Southampton's Head of Girls and Women's football, Marieanne Spacey-Cale, is keen to get stuck into her new role from the get go.
The former England Women international was revealed as Saints' newest coaching recruit today, and has described the excitement of joining a club that wants to grow to become a big influence in the women's sphere.
The appointment represents the cornerstone of the the club's ongoing commitment to expanding its current Girls and Women's football offering, and is a step towards realising its future dream of competing at the top of the women's game.
"From the moment I walked into the club the excitement has continued to rise," Marieanne began.
"I want to enhance the amount of talent and knowledge that is already here, and build on that.
"This is a project we want to build together. We want to take women's and girls' football at this club into an area that is right for us, and right for the people within it.
"I want to challenge and educate people, in terms of what football here looks like now, but importantly what it can look like in the future."
marieanne spacey-cale
We've got a fantastic start point, but we need to build, it might take a few years to get us where we want to be.
on the future of the women's game
The women's game at Southampton has progressed tenfold over the past few years, something that initially attracted Marieanne to the role.
But crucially, the women's set-up is an ongoing project, and with Marieanne's expertise at the forefront, is sure to improve and develop further over coming years. As she explains here: "This is an opportunity to be part of something that has got a solid foundation.
"But like any good foundation, it has to grow and build to become something that is sustainable and something that people want to be a part of.
"The most important bit is where we can go from here, there's a huge amount of enthusiasm behind this project.
"We've got a fantastic start point, but we need to build, it might take a few years to get us where we want to be."
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