Sadler shares honest thoughts on what’s happened at Portsmouth Women this summer
Portsmouth Women boss Jay Sadler is confident that his side can continue to progress despite having to make wholesale changes to his squad this summer.
Pompey confirmed their safety with a dramatic 4-0 win against Blackburn Rovers on the final day of last season, having looked dead certs for relegation for most of the campaign.
Since then, six players have been released while another six loan signings were sent back to their parent clubs.
That has meant a huge rebuilding job for Sadler to prepare his team for another season in the Women’s Championship.
Sadler explains wholesale changes at Portsmouth Women
Portsmouth Women didn’t pick up a league win until March last season. However, a haul of 11 points from their last six games was enough to save them from relegation.
Sadler made huge changes to his squad midway through that season to give them enough quality to get that results.
Speaking at a fans forum event hosted by BBC Radio Solent (4 August), he suggested it was necessary to make even more replacements.
He said: “It’s been tough to say bye to players that have been at the football club for a number of years, transitioning from being grass roots all the way through to now being fully professional.
“But, ultimately we found for the first 14 games last season, you can’t just rely on character, you have to rely on quality as well in the league
“It was a massive jump up for us. Over the off-season, we’ve had a lot of reflection, and now we’ve highlighted that we needed to bring in quality to compete for more than just six games.”
https://x.com/PompeyWomen/status/1948669563932959014Sadler’s ruthless approach key to Portsmouth’s success
Pompey men’s boss John Mousinho had to be ruthless to keep his team in the Championship.
Several players who helped the team get promoted were quickly identified as not being good enough for the second tier and moved on.
It’s this ruthlessness that helped the women’s team survive as well.
| Opponent | Result |
| Sheffield United (A) | Won 2-0 |
| Sunderland (H) | Won 2-1 |
| Southampton (A) | Drew 0-0 |
| Durham (A) | Lost 6-0 |
| Bristol City (H) | Drew 1-1 |
| Blackburn (H) | Won 4-0 |
Sadler has made several new signings this summer, but admitted that he probably needs at least four more new faces to stand a chance of competing in the WSL2 next season.
Jazz Bull, one of Sadler’s new signings, has been named as the new captain for the upcoming season.
Bull was brought to Portsmouth on loan last season and was one of the star players during their late run to safety. She has played in the Women’s Super League and represented Scotland at under-23 level.
It’s players with these types of pedigrees that Sadler will look to help Portsmouth continue to progress in the women’s game.
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