Following on from gaining upward movement into the South West Regional Women’s Football League Premier Division in the summer, FGR are now a settled but ambitious team in the league, with boss Chris Hicks keen to emphasise the brilliant progression of his side this season.
“We did have a difficult start, we played the top three teams away in the league, in virtually our first three fixtures”, said Hicks.
“That gave us a really good insight into the level that we needed to get at, and I think over the last few months we’ve reached that competitive level, and we are a very competitive team in this league.
“Where we are, there’s no reason for us not to go out believing we can win every game we can play.”
“Everyone's got the same goal - to be as strong as we can in this league.”
The team not only started the season in a higher division, but also without a large chunk of the playing squad. The team at his disposal now though, is one that Hicks is extremely happy with.
“At the start of the season we lost so many players to university, around six or seven players from last season, so this season we’ve had to bring in a lot of new players.
“We’ve managed to bring in a lot of experience and some youthfulness too. It’s really starting to come together, to blend together.
“One of the highlights has been the emergence of the younger players this season- it puts us in a great place going forward.
“Over the last couple of months we’ve proven that we can be competitive and also play attractive football while doing so.”
Rovers’ next home game at Chalford Sports Club is against Royal Wootton Bassett on Sunday January 16, with kick-off at 2pm.
The expanding levels of support for his side at fixtures has been great to see, something Hicks and the players are certainly appreciative of.
“That’s been a big highlight for us. As we’ve been playing our games at home, the number of supporters has increased game by game and that’s so pleasing.
“They’re so complementary to the team, it’s a great environment being created, everyone's enjoying it.”
