Interview: Liam Gilbert On A ‘Tough’ First Season As Reading Women Manager

Gilbert spoke about the challenges of the 2023/24 season, highs and lows, the lessons he’s learned, and what’s next on the agenda.

Without the tennis balls, fake money and protests (resulting in the well-earned and deserved media coverage), it’s easy to forget that Reading Women were experiencing the same worries (and fight to survive a double relegation): the lack of funding and transfer budget, no catering at the training ground, the threat of Bearwood being sold, bills and wages not being paid on time, the move to part-time status and, of course, the fear for the very future existence of the club!

With this in mind, Reading Women’s affable first-team manager Liam Gilbert kindly took the time to talk to The Tilehurst End about this largely undocumented journey in his first year at the helm.

When Gilbert and assistant manager Dan Logue took charge, they couldn’t have possibly imagined the number of challenges that would lie ahead - so we started our chat by asking him how he summed up last season.

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‘There’s been a lot of lessons learnt - which is the biggest takeaway for me. I don’t think you could have fathomed the different variety of challenges we’ve had and the different impact it’s had on different players.

“We’ve had to rely quite heavily on loan players this season and then try to get the balance right, within the group, alongside the existing players who have been here for a few years.

“It’s been tough because, although the messages are the same, they sometimes land differently, so it’s been an interesting dynamic for us to navigate as the season went on.

Photo by Ben Hoskins - The FA/The FA via Getty Images

“There are players who have been at the club all of their (footballing) life and are vocal about that. Our message has been ‘don’t worry about that, let’s just control ourselves’ but, at the end of the day, they care about the club, care about what it stands for and, if we’re honest, it has looked a bit bleak at some points - but we got through it and hopefully there’s positive news on the horizon.

“At the start of the season, we lost players to injury, so it’s been great to have Jackie Burns and Dee (Deanna) Cooper back for the tail end of the season. We’ve tried to develop and push the players, as the season went along, which is something we knew we needed to be hot on, and I think we’ve managed to do that with the players in a better place than what they were at the start.”

How did you cope with the off-pitch issues (some months not knowing if your wages would be paid or paid on time)? That must have been tough

“Yes, I don’t think our side has been documented as well, especially when you think that we’ve moved from a full-time model last year to a part-time model now. The players don’t get any nutritional support, they’re in for four and a half hours a day and you are trying to cram in a whole day’s work in that time.

“I’m not complaining, as we still get the ability to do what we love and do what we can, but you’re still trying to cram in so much in so little time.

“Some of the girls have got second jobs to go alongside this and you’ve got the disparity of some players coming down from the WSL, with the club, and those who are coming in and have got other jobs so that they can lead a comfortable life.”

What were the real highs and lows that spring to mind this season? Let’s start with the highs!

“Durham away (on the 3G pitch), I thought that we were superb. I actually think that was our best performance of the season and I thought we got everything right - attitude, application was absolutely spot on and it needed to be in that game - as those are the games you can hide away in.

“The victory against Sunderland (1-0 at the SCL), I thought we were good until they got a player sent off and then we showed our other side, a gritty side, to hold on to games and get a good result against them.

“The first match of the season away to Crystal Palace (1-1), where we only had 12 senior players available. If we had held on to the win (Palace equalised in the 102nd minute) it would have been a great start to everything we did, especially considering everything that happened (pre season).

“The turning point before Christmas was when we beat Cheltenham FC away (4-0 in the FA Cup), Bristol City away (1-1 full-time, winning 5-4 on penalties in the Conti Cup) and drew with Crystal Palace (1-1 at the SCL) in the Championship.”

Photo by Ryan Hiscott - The FA/The FA via Getty Images

Reading have performed well against all of the top three league teams - undefeated against the Championship champions, Crystal Palace (with two 1-1 draws), undefeated against the runners-up, Charlton Athletic (with a draw and a win) and only lost once to third-place side Sunderland. A shame we couldn’t play against the top teams every week!

“Sheffield United beat us convincingly, twice, and we really should have been better in these sort of games - as that’s a six-point swing for your (overall) standings and positioning.

“London City (2-1 defeat at the SCL Stadium). That was a tough one to take, as that could have really galvanised the rest of the season if we had beaten them - but they, unfortunately, scored a fantastic goal (from ex-Royal Emma Mukandi). [Otherwise] I think we’d have been out of any relegation battle.

“Although it was good to get the job done before the Watford match, the final-day defeat was bittersweet, and disappointing, as I wanted to finish further away from the relegation zone.

“January was an absolute nightmare in terms of how it played out. We lost five players in the transfer window (Rose Kite, Freya Gregory, Sanne Troelsgaard, Freya Meadows Tuson and Lily Woodham) - in addition to the unfortunate Ava Kuyken, who suffered a ruptured ACL injury on only her second day of pre-season training.

“Our recruitment process (because of off-field issues) was delayed. We had a budget, then we didn’t have a budget, then we had to sell players and, yes, it was tough - with similar constraints to the men’s team.

“To bring in the players we could get, at the end of January, was a little bit of a shining light, but we knew it was going to take a while for them all to bed in to do exactly what we wanted them to do.

“Dan (Logue) had previously worked with Halle Houssein (who joined on loan from West Ham at the start of the season) and they were pleased with the development of the player, which helped us to drive the relationship with them with the loan signings of Jessie Stapleton and Keira Flannery (Dan had also worked with Flannery before), again both from West Ham United, in January.

“Mae Hunt was promoted from the academy and I knew Jesse Woolley, she played for Bristol City, against Oxford United last year, and I kept my eye on her and I’ve got a good relationship with Lauren Smith (Bristol City manager).

Charlie Wellings (hamstring/tendon injury) has only started eight matches all season (and finished top scorer with six goals in all competitions).

“We’ve only had a striker available for 40% of matches this season.

“Although a good opportunity for Lily Woodham (moving to Seattle Reign), it meant we ended January with no recognised left-back. Bethan Roberts was injured at the time so we only had one recognised full-back available, so it meant we had to change the system and had to change everything we’d been working on because of stuff out of our control.”

Photo by Mark Fletcher/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Tell us about March and the horrible run of defeats (which saw the team concede 18 goals in four matches). How did you get the team to bounce back?

“Due to injuries, March was tough too (and there was only one match in February) so we were just trying to put a competitive group together really. We changed to a 3-5-2 formation, which suited us at the time - we thought the five would be really defensive against some tougher teams - but when we had that run of four matches, and four really poor performances, you could tell it wasn’t the right system and formation for us and how much we missed Brooke Hendrix (club captain from January and both the fans’ and players’ Player of the Season).

“Southampton (5-0 at St Mary’s Stadium), was the start of the bad run of defeats, although I thought they were the best team we played against this year.

“We have had some honest conversations with the players but I don’t think the messages sunk in and it wasn’t until after the Birmingham City match (4-0 defeat at the SCL) on the Wednesday night, that we, as a management team, had to be really consistent as a coaching group, because it could have been easily to drive divide and fracture within us - which would have replicated within the players.

“We stayed honest because, if we had just sugar coated it then, I’m sure it would have taken us in a different direction but we could see a bit of belief and drive had left some of the players.”

You mentioned earlier about lessons learned, are you able to expand on this?

“I’ve been a bit naive in some areas - where I’ve tried to over-enforce my philosophy (on how I want to play football) when sometimes it hasn’t been working and we haven’t necessarily had the profile of the personnel that’s been needed for it.

“Then again, there’s been a few times where we’ve then moved too far away from it, so it’s about finding that right balance. For example, when we’ve had players injured and we’re trying to replicate everything we’ve done and we’re having to bring in younger players that aren’t as experienced to step into those roles.

“We needed to support (those less experienced) players better, to make easier and simpler decisions for them - which wasn’t as conducive to everything we wanted to do - but it meant we were as competitive as we could be in these situations with a very young squad. With a couple of players out, the average age of the team was around 19 and for one match we started with eight teenagers in the line-up (but good experience for them).

“When we started the season we weren’t planning on fighting a relegation battle and we started off quite positively (with only one defeat in the first six league matches). At the end of the day, we did what we needed to do as the tables turned and moved around and it would have been a travesty if we hadn’t had got the job done.”

How would you describe your management style (or how would the girls describe it!)?

“Good question! I’ve never been asked that before! I don’t know about the girls, you better ask them. (TTE quickly makes a note to ask the players!)

“If you’d have asked at the start of the season, I’d have said empathic and high-intensity but, at the moment, I need to have a reassessment of myself and see where I’m at and what’s been effective.

“I think I’ve had to be a different person at different points (of the season) this year and play out a different character, if you like, in different moments. At times I’ve needed to be more of a dictator and other times more of a driver or more empathic and sit back and watch and listen - which has been good development for me to refine the skills I’ve not had to use as much and picking and choosing the right times but to be as consistent as possible.”

Photo by Ben Hoskins - The FA/The FA via Getty Images

You appear to get on well with Dan Logue - but we don’t get to hear much from him?

(Laughing) “Are you sure? He’s the loud one of the two of us! (Which may explain why, during a match, Dan starts by watching the game at the back of the stand).

“I had not worked with Dan before joining Reading but when I began work as a women’s team manager (Oxford United), Dan Logue was the first opposition manager we played against and we got on really well afterwards and we have always kept in touch.

“Dan is someone I trust, has similar ideals and philosophies and was available to come in to fight fires with (which is handy as Dan is an ex-fireman!)

It’s been a testament to your working relationship that you’ve managed to stay resolute during this turbulent season

“There’s been times when I know he has not necessarily agreed with me but no one else would know that. He’s been really good at balancing me out (when I’ve needed a good cop/bad cop - and vice versa).

“Dan’s been a great person to lean on, and have the support of and just a nice and good guy and the girls really like him - which is helpful too as I can’t always be their best friend (to do what’s best for the team).”

Unsung heroes we should be aware of?

“Mitch Parris, marketing manager’ (and who was sitting in during the interview).

“He’s been brilliant. A nice sounding board and someone away from the match-day (coaching) team who’s positive, has been around the club for a while and helps put things into perspective and help keep things grounded (and, to be fair, he’s very good on Football Manager too!)

“The kit lady, Lizzie. Some of the academy staff (from the boys and girls sides), where we’re trying and starting to bring both sides of the club together, work a bit more closely and build cohesion.

“Becky Jane, a brilliant, nice person, under-16s’ performance coach and helped both under-21s (with their title-winning season) and the first team - adding experience and positivity which the players reacted to very well.”

Thank you for your time today, what happens next?

“The girls have two weeks off (immediately after the Watford match), with some taking the opportunity to go on holiday immediately afterwards (as you may see on some of the girls’ social media updates!)

“There’s a long gap before the start of pre-season, so they are given their own gym programmes to follow to make sure they keep ‘ticking over’, stay fit, healthy, conditioned and ready to come back.

“Like everyone else, we’re waiting to see what happens and if there will be new owners. However, whatever happens, we have plans and will be ready - but will have to react quickly.”