Caithness Ladies 'believe in themselves a lot more', says head coach McKenna
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Head coach Tom McKenna has detected a greater confidence within Caithness Ladies as they look to build on the impressive progress they made last year.
The team began their 2024 SWF Highlands and Islands League campaign with an emphatic 7-2 victory over Ross and Cromarty at the Naver all-weather pitch.
Caithness finished third in the table last year, behind champions Buckie and runners-up Orkney, and reached the final of the Highlands and Islands League Cup.
"There's a confidence within the squad which I didn't see last year," McKenna said. "The demands on them are going to be far greater.
"I think they believe in themselves a lot more, individually and as a group. Last year people maybe underestimated the team and the opposition got a wee bit of a shock.
"This year they know that Caithness have moved on regarding their organisation and structure and also technically, so there's a big expectation this year from the coaches."
Anna Foubister hit a hat-trick and there was a double for captain Carly Erridge in Sunday's opening fixture in Thurso. Also on target for Caithness were Sarah Henderson and Sophie Kinghorn.
McKenna said: "You've got to take into consideration that it was their first competitive 11-a-side game in five months. We couldn't organise any friendlies.
"It wasn't the cleanest performance regarding our technical play and our possession play. I think we can do a lot better.
"It's something we'll work on and try to improve on.
"But their work ethic was fantastic and I couldn't fault anyone's attitude.
"I was really impressed with their shape throughout the game, defensively and offensively. They have taken that on board as a team, in possession and out of possession.
"I think we need to sit down and think more about the technical aspects of the game so they can retain the ball for longer periods of time and hopefully cause more problems."
Related stories:
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- They are an inspiration: Caithness Ladies will learn from cup final loss
- Caithness Ladies to work twice as hard to build on Highlands and Islands League development
Next up is an away match against Clachnacuddin this Sunday.
McKenna said: "We'll prepare as best we can and focus on ourselves.
"Ross County have come into it and have been taking players from other teams down that way. I think a few of the squads will be a bit different."
Caithness Ladies will again be playing their home games at Castletown's Back Park when it becomes available.
McKenna will continue to manage the Castletown men's team in the Caithness AFA summer league.
Other results in the SWF Highlands and Islands League: Buckie 0, Sutherland 1; Ross County Development 6, Orkney 1; Clachnacuddin 4, Nairn 1.
