Aberdeen Women interim coach Gavin Levey says he plans to start preparing for next season by assessing who in the squad is “capable” of playing for the club.
The Dons will play out the rest of their season in the lower half of the SWPL 1 table against Dundee United, Spartans, Hamilton Accies and Glasgow Women following the split.
Levey – who is academy director at Aberdeen – believes their remaining 10 games must see the Dons climb the table, while he also plans to assess the squad’s abilities in preparation for next season.
He said: “First and foremost, in the next 10 games we need to get out of being anywhere near the relegation play-off spot.
“And then between now and the end of the season, we have to have a really good look at every individual player in the side and start thinking about how this team is going to look next year.
“We’ve already got some good young talent coming through, like Darcie (Miller) who came on against Motherwell. She came on and ran her socks off.
“We have to look at the attitude and character of these players. It’s the conversation we had in the changing room after the Motherwell game: we have to look and see who is capable of playing at this level now and in the future.”
Levey wants squad to have the right attitude
When asked if he believed there were currently players in the squad who were not capable, Levey said they must be if they are signed to the club – but has urged them to prove it on and off the pitch.
He said: “As the seasons have progressed since we started out, it’s got harder. If they’re here then they’re obviously deemed capable of being the standard required to play in the top flight.
“But you’re only that standard if you’re fit, if you can go for 90 minutes, if you train hard and if you have the right attitude to go and reflect on your performance.
“There’s no excuse for anyone in this football club.
“They have always had passionate staff who want to get the best out of them. They’ve got the highest level of analysis and a gym and training facilities which is one of the best. They have the best medical treatment with full-time physios.
“And some of the players are on semi-professional contracts.
“While we don’t have everything here at Aberdeen compared to some of the other clubs in this league, there are players in the dressing room who are at a top level in terms of attitude.
“But how many players want to push themselves to be playing at this level for a long period of time?”
“To answer the question, I think everyone is capable but it’s down to how many of them want to do this and represent this club.”
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