Karleigh Osborne feels his side have all the tools to have a successful season as the first team head coach looks ahead to the new campaign.

Brentford Women kick start the 2023/24 season on Sunday 20 August against Hounslow Women at Bedfont Sports Club in a 3pm kick-off following a pre-season schedule which saw the Bees play three of four games against teams who compete in the National League. Ahead of the new campaign Osborne, who will be in charge of the first team for the sixth season believes the goal is clear.

He said: “I have no doubt that the players know what we will be striving for as a group come the end of the season, the last campaign ended in disappointment after we just missed out on the league title and promotion to the Premier Division so I know that the team will be eager to put this right and clinch the title this time round.

“Our philosophy will be very similar to what we have done in previous campaigns, but I would like us to become slightly more versatile. I want the team to become more comfortable when myself or another member of the coaching staff wants us to change the way we are playing during our games and this is something we have been working on during pre-season.”

The first team played their final pre-season fixture last Sunday against tier four side London Seaward on Sunday 6 August which ended in a 2-2 draw. Osborne went on to reflect on what he feels was a positive pre-season period for his side which included a 5-0 win against Ascot United who play their domestic action in the league above the Bees.

Osborne feels confident heading into the new season

“Making sure our work towards the new season is done correctly was obviously important,” said Osborne. “We felt it was necessary to test the players against opposition who play a few divisions above us as ultimately that’s the level we want to be playing at, and I feel the ladies reacted well to the challenges that were put in front of them.

“We had some good moments especially in the game against Ascot where we played brilliantly, but for me I think it was more important to get the team together, make sure we bond as a group and build an understanding in what we want to achieve in the new season.”

The first team have made six new additions to the squad that finished second in the league last season. Striker Paula Holguin joins having most recently played from Loughborough University whilst midfielders, Nour Aboul Kheir and Ellen Wardlaw arrive from National League outfits Loughborough Lightening and Queens Park Rangers. Aya Mirjan, Lucy Bolitho and Samantha Read join from tier five clubs, Sutton United, Millwall Lionesses and Headstone Manor.

Nour Aboul Kheir impressed for the Bees during pre-season

Speaking on the new additions, Osborne explained: “I’m really pleased with the players we have brought in; I have full belief that they can help us improve as a team and elevate us to that next level. Improving the squad each season is something we aim to do but it was also just as important to keep some of the talent that we already had, players like Chloe Logie and Regan Graver who were brilliant for us last season. I think we have some great balance in the squad now and have more depth then we had before so I’m happy with how we are looking going into the new season.”

The B team have also made a start to their preparations for the new campaign with the side facing Impact Women on Sunday 3 September in the season opener.

Similar to the first team, the B team finished last season in second place, missing out on promotion from the Greater London Women’s Football League Division One North but Ryan-Maynard feels his team are now ready to push on and claim the league title.

He said: “We have been competing in the same league for a few seasons now and have always been in and around the top of the table so I would like to think this season will be the one where we get it done.

Ryan-Maynard eyes promotion ahead of the new campaign

“Our main aim in the B team is to be successful and to win as many competitions as we can but also to develop the players and move them onto the first team. We saw a number of players make their first team debut’s last season which was great so we will be looking to push a few more on in the new campaign.”

Despite having a young group, the head coach has confidence that his side will be able to dust of last season’s disappointment and make a positive return to competitive football in the up-and-coming campaign.

“Just from some of the chats I’ve had with some of the players I can tell they are ready for the season to start,” said Ryan-Maynard. “I think they are hungrier more than ever to make a statement to the rest of the league right from the first game, we have made some good additions to the squad bringing in Freya (Morgan) and K-Lah (Briscoe) as well as adding experience with Emily Boycott and Laura Miller joining from the first team, so I’m positive we can have a great season.

K-Lah Briscoe in action for the B team during pre-season

“I’ve been really impressed with some of the work I’ve seen during training since we have returned, I think the players are already beginning to understand how we will be looking to play this season so I’m really excited to see it all come into fruition.”