The Scottish Women’s Premier League (SWPL) returns on Sunday – and it’s set to be another exciting season.
The 2022-23 season was a record-breaking campaign with more fans watching than ever before in the stadiums and on TV – and the players delivered on the pitch.
With the top-flight splitting after two rounds of fixtures for the first time, the league became more competitive and the title-race and relegation went down to the wire.
I can only see this season building on the success of last, and I believe the league will continue to get stronger and stronger.
Ahead of the SWPL‘s return, I have pondered how the campaign might play out – including my expectations from Aberdeen, who will challenge for the title and who might struggle.
How will Aberdeen do?
Aberdeen finished ninth last season, and I think it could be another challenging campaign.
It’s great to see the club bringing in a full-time manager in Clint Lancaster and he has added players to the squad, which was needed after a number of departures following the end of last season.
Bringing in goalkeeper Faye Kirby on loan from Liverpool was a big statement of intent.
But it will still be tough for Aberdeen and it might become even clearer this term how far away the Dons are from the top sides in the SWPL.
With their season starting against Motherwell it should be an interesting marker as to where Aberdeen actually are. On paper they are two sides who have been evenly matched over the last two seasons, but the clubs’ respective programmes seem to be at different points.
It took a long time to appoint a manager, but now Clint is here hopefully the Dons can build some stability and aim to pick up some good results early in the season.
A good point of reflection will be at Christmas time when the manager will have been exposed to the level of the SWPL and can decide whether he needs to strengthen his squad during the transfer window.
Even though I think Aberdeen are in for a difficult season, the aim should not just be survival.
Clint has moved from England to join the club and I doubt he would do that if he expected to be battling relegation for the entire campaign.
I understand you have to be realistic and the Dons’ aims are probably not to break into the top six this term, but they can’t just be settling for a place in the league come this time next year.
Who will win the title?
It was great to see the title race go down to the wire – the 92nd minute of the final game – last season with my former side Glasgow City lifting the SWPL trophy for the 16th time, while Celtic had to settle for second and Rangers third.
At this point it’s difficult to predict who might win the league, but I expect City and Rangers to be battling for the honour.
Celtic have lost key players during the summer and their programme is a bit behind the other two teams, so I’m not sure they will be in with as much of a shout.
City, however, start the season as reigning champions and have more consistency with the experienced players in their squad staying on, which could prove vital if things get tough.
There will be pressure on City due to being champions, but I don’t think it’s something that will faze them. It’s not unfamiliar territory.
After taking the reins midway through last season, City stalwart Leanne Ross will know there can’t be any concessions this term. This is her squad now and she will be wanting to make her mark.
City have signed Scotland youth international Kenzie Weir on loan from Everton and she is a really exciting talent.
She could be the perfect replacement for centre-back Jenna Clark, who left City to join Liverpool.
Meanwhile, I have heard really exciting things about Rangers’ new manager Jo Potter, which is why I think they could challenge for the title.
Rangers will benefit from the freshness of Jo coming in. She will be demanding a lot more from the players, some of whom I feel were stuck in their comfort zone, and the players will be looking to impress her.
She’s very analytical and detailed in her coaching and that’s what could set Rangers apart.
She is only 38 and Jo was playing at a high level fairly recently and has demonstrated the ability to transition her skills from playing into coaching.
The club have recruited well and with Jo as manager, Rangers probably have more of a pull on players than they have done before, especially those coming from down south – such as Rachel Rowe, who has signed from Reading.
Rowe has a wealth of experience at club and international level, having been a key player for the Royals in the FA WSL for several years.
I would expect Rachel to play a big part in whatever Rangers go on to achieve.
Who might struggle?
It’s a massive jump from SWPL 2 to the SWPL, so Montrose could be in for a difficult debut campaign.
They have done really well over the last couple of seasons, with consecutive promotions, but the top-flight is a different beast and one which might take some time to get to grips with.
The split will benefit Montrose greatly and might be their best opportunity to go on a run of form and stay clear of relegation – but, hopefully they get some good results before then otherwise it could feel like a long season.
It’s a difficult start for the Gable Endies as they host Celtic at Links Park, but I hope they embrace the challenge and enjoy their first-ever game in the top-flight.
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