‘I don’t expect players to respect me – I expect them to respect what I’m able to deliver for them’

followed by Corinne Diacre, who in her first match in charge was presented with flowers from the opposition manager. In her three seasons in charge Diacre led Clermont to a best finishing place of seventh, despite having one of the smallest budgets in the league. She is currently manager of the France women’s national team.

Have these pioneers managed to shift the dial? By 2020 there were just under 35,000 Football Association-qualified female football coaches in England; the number of women with the Uefa ‘A’ licence had doubled in the space of three years from 41 to 82. Yet, when Chelsea Women manager Emma Hayes was briefly linked with the job at League One men’s club AFC Wimbledon last month, many fans’ sexist reactions were a reminder of how far the sport still has to go. The episode highlighted that none of the 158 clubs in the top six tiers of English men’s football have ever appointed a woman as manager. For many, there remains a perception that you need to have played in the men’s game in order to be a manager in the men’s game.

Yet Phillip would appear to be disproving that theory. Coronavirus lockdowns have since delayed her side’s challenge for further success in the Kent County League Premier Division, but having already secured the club’s first senior trophy will be remembered as a “special” moment. The club are run by volunteers, including Phillip, who despite holding the ‘A’ licence currently coaches the team – and their Under-18s – out of love for the game and her local club, while she works full-time in her day job helping youngsters in the community. She says a full-time, paid role as a manager higher up the pyramid would be “fantastic” but only if the role was right for her and her family.

Her coaching skills are not going unnoticed and this winter she was offered a role with England Women’s Under-18s, but Phillip explained she has temporarily declined the position because of work and family commitments during lockdown. The FA is understood to be holding the place open for her when the timing is right.

England legends Rachel Yankey and Fara Williams, as well as Arsenal academy coach Coreen Brown, have all been offered roles within the England youth set-up as part of a number of FA initiatives to boost opportunities for female coaches.

This month, the FA also unveiled a new, 18-month “Coaching Excellence Initiative” aimed at developing more highperformance coaches working in elite women’s football. The scheme is not specifically targeting more women working in men’s football, but Audrey Cooper, the FA’S Head of Women’s Coach Development, said it was part of the FA’S “endeavour to normalise women in coaching”.