Neville knows what it takes to win with England, says Keira Walsh
The Lionesses started their Women’s World Cup campaign with victory over Scotland and the midfielder is happy with the coach’s approach
England midfielder Keira Walsh has revealed how their relentless boss Phil Neville is continually striving for more from his side.
The Lionesses kick-started their 2019 Women’s World Cup campaign with a 2-1 win over neighbours Scotland on Sunday, however, Neville had some stern words for his side after the match.
The former Manchester United and Everton man didn’t even wait to gather his players in the dressing room, and was captured reflecting on the display on the field of play following the final whistle.
“Most people know Phil Neville by now,” Walsh told Sky Sports News. “He’s never satisfied with any performance.
“He kind of just told us what he wasn’t happy with and I think as players we already knew that, when we came off, the second half wasn’t what we wanted it to be like. But I think the main thing was that we got the result and three points in the first game puts us in a good position in the group”.
England’s opening match of the tournament in France was watched by 6.1 million viewers on BBC TV, a record for the women’s game. This Friday will see another difficult test when Neville’s side will face Argentina, but his squad understand exactly what is needed from them.
“We reviewed the game and spoke about the areas we need to improve in and hopefully we can take that into the Argentina game,” Walsh continued, before adding that she feels the benefit from any critique of her performances.
“On a personal level I quite like being told what I’m not doing well,” Walsh said. “That lets you know what you need to be improving on and most of the time I can’t hear him anyway.
“I’m sure some of the players who are closer to the touchline probably just want him to calm down a little bit but he’s a great personality and he really drives the team.
“He knows what it takes to get to the top. He’s been at the top as a player for I don’t know how many years, so the players really do listen to what he’s saying whether it’s positive or negative and every individual tries to improve that in their next performance.”
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