TOPSY-TURVY SEASON FOR BUDDIES BUT BOSS COOPER IS HAPPY

FROM BACK PAGE the SWFL North before a ball was kicked in SWF League One, and the folding of BSC Glasgow earlier this year – leaving just 10 teams in the league.

She told Express Sport that the split has benefits for both the top half and bottom half teams and insists it represents a good opportunity for her team following a year of transition. She said: “I enjoy the split because if you’re going for promotion, it gives you a really hard challenge and then when you go up, your players are ready to go up because they’ve been challenged.

“And the split for the lower end of the table allows them to almost start to rebuild and give your players a chance to be competitive. Sometimes I feel when you’ve experienced an up-anddown year, it gives you a chance to really change things and to grow and develop; to become much better at looking for solutions.”

Saints finished the regular season in eighth place. But in a year that saw the establishment of a full pathway from youth football up to the senior team, the club is taking strides to ensure its longevity. And that’s something recognised by the SWF who echoed a need for stability at an emergency general meeting of clubs recently.

Officials tried to work out how to minimise the disruption that teams withdrawing has on all leagues and protect the integrity of the game. Cooper said: “Sometimes you can just dwell on what’s not working but sometimes you have to take time and look at what is working.

“For us, we are genuinely creating an environment where women and girls can come and play competitive football and challenge themselves to fulfil their potential.”