Jay Sadler shares brutally honest admission after Portsmouth Women pasting
Portsmouth Women head coach Jay Sadler has demanded his players and staff “look in the mirror, not the window” after suffering a 5-1 thrashing by London City Lionesses.
Sophie Quirk’s consolation was the only bright spark to show for Pompey’s day in the capital on Sunday (5 October), as they sit at the foot of the Women’s Championship table without a single point from five games.
It was not even the Blues’ heaviest defeat of the week, having been beaten 6-1 – albeit by WSL opposition – at West Ham United last Wednesday (2 October) as their male counterparts suffered the same result.
Sadler told Portsmouth FC’s official YouTube channel [8 October]: “We need to take ownership, starting with myself. We need every player, every staff member, to look in the mirror and not through the window and come up with ways to support us.
“The results haven’t been through a lack of heart, desire or fight, but this league takes no prisoners and has an abundance of quality.
“We have quality, we have great players, but we need to utilise that better and take the moments that come our way.”
Portsmouth Women still yet to get off the mark
Portsmouth deserved a lot of credit on both fronts for their successes last year, which culminated in the men’s and women’s teams celebrating their respective titles together with the fans on Southsea Common.
But both sides are realising the hard way the ruthless nature of each of their Championship campaigns, as an all-round second-tier club.
Sadler appears unsure of where to go next tactically, after admitting he could not immediately identify where it specifically unravelled for his side at London City.
Pompey are still bedding in a host of new signings, an entirely new professional element to their setup including backroom staff, but time is not waiting for them to play catch-up.
For a side who have shipped 17 league goals and scored just once in their opening five, they have to figure a lot of home truths out very quickly – because it’s derby day this weekend against Southampton at Fratton Park.
In other Portsmouth news, a plan to give fringe players more minutes has emerged via John Mousinho.
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