Ring master
Player Valuation: £90m
Everton Women manager Willie Kirk outlined the Club’s dual ambition to win silverware and compete in the Champions League after signing a new two-and-a-half-year contract until the end of June 2023.
Kirk has penned an extended deal having overseen a steady and consistent upturn in the Blues’ results since his appointment in December 2018 along with Assistant Manager Chris Roberts, who has also agreed a new contract until June 2023.
Everton were in the thick of a Women’s Super League relegation battle when he took the reins midway through the 2018/19 campaign.
The Scot successfully steered Everton to safety, before leading the Toffees to a sixth-place finish in his first full season in charge.
Kirk’s team also embarked on a thrilling 2020 Women’s FA Cup run and reached November’s Wembley final, where his team were edged out by Manchester City after extra-time.
Kirk says Everton’s hunger to compete at the top of English and European football was central to his decision to commit his future to the Club.
“I’m delighted to extend my stay here,” he told evertontv.
“It’s been a really exciting two years. I was very keen to continue that and start piecing together what our future journey looks like.
“The ambition of the Club is a huge factor for me. I’m a very ambitious person. I want to achieve a lot in the game.
We want to take the standards at Everton to a completely different level. A higher level than it’s ever been before.
“I’m desperate to bring silverware to Everton Women. And we want to qualify for the Champions League.
“There are a lot of building blocks [towards achieving those goals], but that’s what we want to do.”
Everton head into the WSL Christmas break fifth in the league table and within striking distance of the Champions League places.
Kirk’s team have recorded several eye-catching victories this term. Everton beat WSL champions Chelsea 2-1 in a stunning FA Cup quarter-final success at Goodison Park, while top-flight rivals Birmingham City and Aston Villa were beaten 3-0 and 6-0 respectively in the space of four days.
Kirk has shaped a youthful, dynamic Everton squad, having made a number of high-quality signings during the summer transfer window.
The Blues boss paid tribute to the unstinting support he has received from the Club.
Kirk said: “I came in two years ago and the Club said they were ambitious, that they wanted the women’s team to be fully integrated into USM Finch Farm, that they wanted us to have the best of everything.
“And they’ve been true to their word.
“We’re probably ahead of the curve in terms of where I thought the squad would be.
“We’re certainly not going to rest on our laurels, we want to move forward from here.
“The Club has been great to me.
Hopefully I’ve gave them something back in return in terms of a little bit of success – or a taste of what that could look like by reaching the FA Cup final.”
Kirk explained how Everton will strive to continue bringing elite players to the Club, while developing the exciting talents within his squad.
“We’re an attractive place to come and play – top players are interested in signing for the Club,” he said.
“We need to continue improving the players we’ve got and to continue to invest – and invest in a level of player that will help us achieve our goals.
“We want to develop our own players and bring them through the Academy system, and that’s exciting. We’ve been quite proactive in that.
“We want to continue improving our everyday practices.
“We’ve made loads of progress with that in terms of the staff we’ve got and the way we work around USM Finch Farm.”
Kirk added: “You can see the ambition throughout the Club – starting with Carlo Ancelotti working with the men’s First Team. It’s exciting to be at the same club as someone like that.
“Then you see [Director of Academy and Under-23s manager] David Unsworth talking about wanting the boys’ Academy to be the best in the world, and how ambitious I am in what I want to achieve with Everton Women.
“It’s an exciting time to be at the Club.”
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