“She’s done an incredible job.” Steph Catley on Arsenal Women’s interim head coach

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·21 December 2024

“She’s done an incredible job.” Steph Catley on Arsenal Women’s interim head coach

There’s no tension around Arsenal Women’s camp concerning their managerial situation, if we are to believe Steph Catley’s latest comments. Speculation has it that interim manager Renée Slegers’ reign as Arsenal Women’s boss ends after Arsenal’s UEFA Champions League final group game against Bayern Munich.

In mid-October, Renée took over as the Arsenal manager on an interim basis. She replaced Jonas Eidevall after the Swedish tactician opted to resign. Eidevall decided to leave after a disappointing start to the season, feeling the team would be better off without him. And certainly, the team has been better.

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While one might believe Arsenal Women have never had it easy, knowing who’s perfect to lead their girls, given Renée has proved herself worthy, there’s still a chance she might not become the permanent Arsenal Women manager. Indeed, the mother to a young child, simply may not want the high pressure of the head coach role.

The decision process (both internal and external) for replacing Eidevall is ongoing, causing some uncertainty and tension about who will be leading our Gunner women from the dugout after the winter break.

As tense as we Gooners might feel about the Arsenal decision-makers not being straightforward about who they’ll appoint to replace Eidevall, that tension isn’t shared within the Arsenal camp.

Steph Catley, speaking to the press ahead of the Arsenal versus Bayern Munich match at Meadow Park, admitted the mood in the camp concerning the managerial situation: “As a playing group, we’re just focusing on our games. She’s our leader at the moment, that’s the position she’s in, and she’s done an incredible job. She’s also doing very well at just focusing on the football and taking it one game at a time.”

From Catley’s words, I bet I’d be right in saying that Renée is one manager who’s really understood this Arsenal Women team. She seems to have caught their attention, earned their respect, and helped them focus on what brought them to North London. Surely, that’s someone you stick with. Either way, it is great that our Gunner women haven’t been affected by the managerial change, the speculation of who takes over, and haven’t been worried about whether Renée Slegers stays or continues. That just shows how mature this team is and what a perfect character those girls have.

What are your thoughts Gooners?

Michelle M

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