Griffiths Graduates From Skipper to Gaffer

Joe Lightfoot, a University of Derby football journalism student and regular Ewe Rams reporter, interviews Derby County Ladies head coach Sam Griffiths, the club’s former captain. Griffiths admits her title ambitions have shifted: an initial aim of winning the FA Women’s National League Northern Division has given way to challenging for second and third in the face of Blackburn Rovers’ hundred per cent start. She is nonetheless proud of a side almost seventy per cent new sitting mid-table, four points off Sunderland in third. Griffiths draws a parallel with Frank Lampard’s appointment at the men’s club, praising both Derby clubs for backing coaches without first-team management experience but with a strong vision. Her playing career ended through an anterior cruciate ligament injury she calls a blessing in disguise, letting her coach full-time.