You must be fairly delighted with the team’s achievements so far, this season?

Yes, definitely. We are in pole position and we’ve had some very good new players come and join us this season from FAWPL teams too, like Anna Renken from Lincoln, Wendy Andrews and Rachael Nolan from PNE and Rebecca Brown from Blackburn Rovers.

Have the performances been as good as the string of results?

Yeah, the girls have been playing really well. Ok, against Salford, we drew at home, they were better the side and we were poor. We were lucky to get a point. Also, we lost to a good South Durham Royals team and - we’re always honest about such things - we deserved to get beat.

Having gone so well in the league, was it a disappointment not to go further in the FA Women’s Cup, a competition where the players could have tested themselves against higher opposition?

We lost to Liverpool Feds, who are currently fourth in our league and as I just said, we are honest about our performances and on that occasion we were very unlucky. We were on top, I would say we had easily 75% of the game and they had literally one shot and they scored, whereas we had missed three open goals in the first half. And I had said to the girls before the game, in the pre-match talk, that I’d rather lose 10-0 in the cup, than lose 1-0 in the league because that’s where our priorities lie. The girls played really well but that’s football.

Considering your current position and that you could be playing in the FAWPL Northern Division next season, have you been watching the developments with regards to the Super League?

Absolutely, yes. We actually looked at it very seriously, as to whether we might put in a bid. To be honest though, we would have been expected to change a lot of personnel and when you look at how around 65% of our players have been with us for many, many years - we have players who have been with us since they were 14-15 who we know can do a job for us in the Premier League - we value loyalty very highly. We’re a family run and family oriented club, we just felt such a big change would diminish what we have all built here.

What is your background in football and how did you get involved in women's football and with Rochdale AFC Ladies?

Well, I played myself when I was younger, I was with the Man Utd youth team during Wilf McGuinness’s time coaching teams at the club. Then, when my daughter started to play I went along with her and offered to help out and I’ve been involved in the women’s game for 12 years now.
The club was originally Hopwood, with an U14-15 side and then they amalgamated Rochdale with Hopwood in 2001and we’ve been involved ever since, myself and Chairman Dave Yates. We get great support and are currently having very positive conversations with MCA Accountants about a sponsorship deal which will see them support us for two years
I still love being involved, I still approach it with as much enthusiasm. My daughter is still involved to, she is actually the team’s captain. It’s not nepotism, she is the sweeper and a very good communicator (she has a big gob, like me!).

(Captain, Claire Pearson, with last season's Lanc County Cup Trophy, after their shock triumph over Blackburn Rovers.)

Did you do anything different in preparation for this season, start training earlier for example, or can you pin your success on anything else the club has done differently?

We carried on playing and training through the summer, as we have done in previous years, though we didn’t win the Umbro Tournament this summer, ironically (as we had done the two years before). We had players playing over in the U.S. and we have 5-6 teachers in our team and that’s when they get to take their summer holiday, so I don’t think it was anything markedly different we did pre-season.
What has made a big difference is Steve Walmsley’s input, he really has made a massive difference in terms of his organisation and promotion of the club. He prepares pre-match meals for the players and we are much more organised off the field, which genuinely does have an impact on the girls when they go onto the field. Also, Steve brought in Dan our fitness coach and Mark our goalkeeping coach. Basically, a lot of people together, are doing a great job.

So, with nine games to go and your game v Blackpool this Sunday could be the only game in your league, is the title in the bag? (A cheeky question, we know!)

Of course not. Sunday will be a good chance to open up a bit more of a gap though and we do feel confident. It’s definitely the case that it’s there for us to lose it rather than another team take it away from us.

The Lancs County Cup Winners 2009, with their bling!