With the 2026/27 FA Women’s National League Premier Division South getting under way on Sunday, Matt Green spoke to Argyle TV about how pre-season preparations have gone, the new signings in the building, as well as the challenge that is to come.
Argyle head to Swindon Town to the take on the newly-promoted Robins, at the Nigel Eady County Ground (2pm).
Green said: “We’ve brought in three players, hopefully got another couple that we are going to announce very soon. Those three senior players have brought some experience to what’s a young squad.
“I’ve been really pleased with the development of those young players over the course of pre-season. I think where we started at Bridgwater in game one to where we finished the Swansea game last weekend, I think there has been massive development and massive improvement.
“The younger players have really stepped up to the challenge that we are asking them to. Those more senior players have massively helped with that, with their experiences that they’ve got in this league and above.
“It’s been a good pre-season if you look at where we started from to where we’ve got to. All in all, I’m very pleased, but we obviously know there is more work to do.”
The Argyle Women’s Head Coach went on to discuss how impressed he was with his new recruits, not just in terms of ability, but in terms of leadership.
He said: “Olivia Giles has come from Exeter from a goalkeeping point of view. She’s got experience in tier three; she didn’t get as much game time as she probably would have liked at Exeter but has come across. She’s a Plymouth girl so she’s probably now back where she feels like she wants to be.
“For the younger goalkeepers, having a keeper that has got that experience of playing in the league has helped both Saskia [Worrall] and Aimee [Walters] really develop in the last seven or eight weeks.
“Both are very good young goalkeepers but there is nothing like having that experience already in this division.
“Ellie Bishop has obviously come in, Hana Bennett too, both really experienced players.
“Ellie’s got experience in this league and with Norwich getting a promotion, so she knows what it’s like to win and have that winning mentality in the group.
“Hana’s just a great pro, she’s coming back from an injury herself, she’s probably a couple of weeks away from getting back into the squad.
“The idea is to bring in two or three more senior players; we are in talks with a number of players."
Looking ahead to Sunday’s trip to Swindon, Green recognises the challenge his side will face but also re-affirms the desire to win that the group will go into every game with.
“It’s at their ground,” Green told Argyle TV. “The County Ground, which again will be another experience for some of the younger players who haven’t played in a stadium pitch before. They need to embrace that and really enjoy that experience.
“Swindon have come up, they had a really good season last year, retained most of their squad from last season.
“We expect them to be attacking, they’ll probably look at us as a younger squad and think we can get off to a good start.
“We are going there with the mindset to win the game as we will do in every single game this season and not fear any opponent.
“We will go there to win but expect it to be a tough game.”
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You can watch Matt Green’s interview, in full, on Argyle TV here.
