Aberdeen Women won’t just be entering a new year in 2023, but also a new era with a new manager soon to be in post.
The Dons hope to have a new manager in place – following Emma Hunter and Gavin Beith’s resignations in November – sometime in January.
For whoever takes over there is an immediate job at hand that needs to be done – which is getting the Dons away from the bottom of SWPL 1 – but it’s also a long-term project.
A new three-year strategy is now in place for Aberdeen Women, as the club works with a number of people, who offer different expertise in several subgroups.
Academy director Gavin Levey told the Press and Journal, the club must consolidate their success and ensure the growth of the women’s team is sustainable.
He also said while the club are ambitious, they must be “realistic” which suggests professional women’s football in Aberdeen remains quite far off.
With all of that in mind here are the priorities for Aberdeen Women on and off the pitch in 2023.
A new manager
There is one certainty for 2023 and that is a new manager will, at some point, be appointed and will become an important part of the Aberdeen Women project.
The job vacancy closed on December 19, so the Dons will be in the midst of assessing and preparing to make contact with the managerial applicants.
Whoever comes in, they will be inheriting a talented squad who have achieved a great deal over the last few years, winning titles and promotions.
But there is an immediate challenge at hand which is leading the team to improved results on the pitch, in order to ensure SWPL status next season.
SWPL survival
When Aberdeen Women return to the pitch in 2023, they do so sitting second bottom of the league, having picked up just eight points in their opening 12 games.
After the festive break, things need to improve in attack as Aberdeen are the second-lowest goalscorers in the league with 11 – six have been scored at home and five away.
Aberdeen’s first point of the season came in a 2-2 draw with Partick Thistle in August, with their next points coming six match-days later in a 2-0 win against Glasgow Women
The Dons picked up their second win, and first on the road, with a 2-1 win over Dundee United at Tannadice, which was Hunter and Beith’s final game in charge.
They signed off 2022 with a 1-1 draw against Spartans at Balmoral Stadium, meaning Aberdeen will start 2023 undefeated in their last two games.
For the first time this season in SWPL 1, after each team have played one another home and away, the league will split into the top and bottom six.
The Dons’ main priority should be avoiding getting dragged into a relegation battle near the end of the season.
SWPL 1 is an everchanging league, so a few wins in the top-flight could catapult them up into a comfortable safe position away from the drop zone.
There is plenty of reasons to believe Aberdeen will avoid a relegation scrap and it may be better for them to miss out on finishing in the top-half.
If the Dons finish in the top six, it’s almost a certainty they would then play Rangers, Celtic and Glasgow City, twice again.
There are plenty of benefits to playing against the professional teams, however, Aberdeen need to build back their confidence.
That is unlikely to happen playing the likes of those teams week in, week out, so their aim should be to be the best of the rest in the bottom half.
Hopefully, they can have a successful second half of the season and then build on that progress and aim for top six next season.
Increased resources
It has to be reasonable but sensible investment – there is not an expectation for the women’s team to be put on full-time, professional contracts at this precise moment in time.
But steady progressive steps need to be taken now so the achievement of the last few years doesn’t become overshadowed by stagnation.
As part of their strategy, a good next step – and a sustainable, realistic one – would be for Aberdeen to offer more players, ideally the entire squad, paid contracts.
There are currently just five paid players at the club: Jess Broadrick, Eilidh Shore, Eva Thomson, Bayley Hutchison and Francesca Ogilvie.
When they signed those contracts, it was a positive step in the right direction but it can’t just stop there, and it’s important that all the players feel valued.
The paid contracts would also benefit Aberdeen’s player recruitment, because they are at a disadvantage due to their geographical location.
If a player is to travel up north for training three times a week, and a match on Sunday, there has to be some sort of benefit that comes with that.
Due to their location, the Dons have had to rely on young local players, and it has worked to a degree, but it’s not a long-term stable strategy at the highest level.
Of course, it’s so so important to have a youth pathway but a team playing in the top-flight can’t solely rely on their youngsters for success.
What are the ambitions?
The three-year strategy shows there is a plan in place, but what is important is clarity and to know what the long-term hopes and ambitions are for the women’s team.
In her Evening Express column, Scotland captain and Aberdeen fan Rachel Corsie perfectly summed up an issue that holds back women’s sport.
She said: “People who view women’s sport on where it’s valued now and not where they think it can – or will be – limits the possibilities and growth.
“The validation of investment in the men’s game is very much forthcoming – but with the women’s game the lack of it is justified by saying ‘oh we’re just not there yet’.”
Aberdeen have to approach the strategy through the lens of what they want their women’s team to look like in the near and distant future.
Do they want to play in the top-flight year in, year out? Do they want to become a serious threat to the top-three? Do they eventually want to contest for trophies?
If the answer to those questions are yes, then the only way to achieve those aims is considerable investment – something they might not be able to justify right now.
If they can’t really answer those questions, there is a risk of the team just existing for the sake of it, rather than being one that thrives.
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