Football / Bristol Academy WFC
Praise for ex-Bristol manager in semi-final
Former Bristol Academy manager Mark Sampson who now manages England has been praised ahead of tonight’s World Cup semi-final.
Corinne Yorston, his captain for three years at Bristol, said the 31-year-old is “the best manager I have ever worked with”.
“He just loves football,” she told The Times. “He would know everything about any game: men’s, women’s, kids’, from anywhere in the world.”
is needed now More than ever
Sampson enjoyed five years at Bristol Academy, taking the Vixens to two FA Cup finals, second place in the league and twice into Europe.
Brave @england performance yesterday had to go deep to get an important result. Proud of the team #Lionesses pic.twitter.com/BDu1jMCjOu
— Mark Sampson (@Mark_Sampson) June 14, 2015
“He gave you so much belief and confidence,” Yorston said. “He made you want to give everything. It was all about the team and that team ethic: in training, so many of the drills we did were about making us work as a side.
“He is the only manager I have ever known who would make us all gather in the dressing room before training.
“Most of us were used to being part-time, coming straight to training from work or college, so we would usually just meet on the pitch.
“He changed that. He wanted us together, talking about our days, and then I would lead the players out for training. Every training session, just like a game.”
England Women’s team play World Cup holders Japan tonight in Canada at midnight, BST.
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
