Vixens name Smith interim head coach for new campaign

LAUREN Smith will lead Bristol City Women as they prepare for the forthcoming Championship season with the 33-year-old confirmed as the Vixens’ new interim head coach.

Matt Beard, who stepped in for Tanya Oxtoby in January as she spent time away from the club on maternity leave, left the club for Liverpool last month and Smith has been named as his replacement.

It marks a homecoming for Smith who served the club in various roles from 2010-2017 when she departed to take up a post with the Welsh FA and then Tottenham Hotspur, as assistant to head coach Rehane Skinner.

“Bristol City Women is a club that I hold close to my heart and I’m delighted to return as head coach for the 2021/22 season,” Smith said.

“Having previously spent seven years at the club, coaching through the age groups and into the first team as an assistant, it’s a special moment to become head coach.

“It’s going to be a busy summer ahead with a lot of work to be done as we aim to rebuild and prepare for one of the most competitive leagues in women’s football.”

City are going through a transitional summer following WSL relegation with top-scorer Ebony Salmon having left plus assistant coach Marco Chiavetta, head of women’s football Lee Billiard and first-team players Gemma Evans, Ella Mastrantonio and Georgia Wilson. Goalkeeper Sophie Baggaley has been linked with Manchester United. Salmon scored a brilliant solo goal for Racing Louisville after just 74 seconds of her NWSL debut.