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.”
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.
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