Learning and legacy gives us a win-win SUE SMITH

THE LIONESSES won’t realise it just yet – but the footprint they have left on this World Cup and our domestic game has been enormous.

When you are playing at a major tournament you operate in a football bubble – it’s very difficult to gauge feelings at home.

But from my own personal perspective there is lots of evidence that suggests that while they might have failed in their first objective – winning it – they have succeeded in one of their others.

They have generated huge interest in the game and the fact they have left absolutely everything out on the pitch has endeared them to the nation.

A pal of mine is a semiprofessional in the men’s game and he’s bought into it, lock, stock and barrel.

He went to the pub to watch it – he said the place was packed – and remarked that he was just as gutted when the women lost in their World Cup semi-final as he was when the men suffered the same fate 12 months ago.

Plenty of people have messaged me since I’ve been out in France, wanting to talk about it and share their thoughts – so if this is happening across the country, then you can see the effect that this campaign has had.

A lot of credit has to go to Phil Neville. His mindset has been spot-on.

Being open about the fact that we want to win the World Cup – and that there are no real prizes for

Sue Smith has enjoyed a stellar club career, spanning 23 years, with Tranmere, Leeds, Lincoln and Doncaster Belles. The Merseyside-born winger made her Lionesses debut at just 17 years of age, and went on to make 93 appearances.

finishing second – really struck a chord too. And a lot of credit has to go to the players. They have talked about wanting to inspire and they have done exactly that. People might not have known who Ellen White was, might not have heard of Jill Scott or Lucy Bronze – they know now. And, like I say, they left it out on the pitch. They cared. I still think there was a gap between us and the Americans and if there are improvements to be made it is probably best that we use them as the yardstick. If we had been in the other half of the draw, we would have been contesting the final against them later this afternoon. We did not look as fast or as sharp as they did on Tuesday night. Our passing wasn’t as good as it has been. But perhaps we have to give the Americans some credit for that. On another positive note, I have seen the advancements in fitness and conditioning that have taken place during the past five seasons since the women’s game has gone full-time. With another few years’ development and knowledge, we can close the gap still further. We can be sharper and fitter. I would like to see us retaining the ball better as well. Both of these are areas Phil will be look at. In the end this campaign came down to fine margins. But their efforts did enable us to dream.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Neville and Co hit the right note