Interview — Emma Hayes

Catherine Etoe interviews Emma Hayes ahead of her first full season as Chelsea manager, drawing on twelve years coaching in the American W-League and WPS, including the technical director’s role at Western New York Flash when they won the 2011 championship with Marta, Alex Morgan and Christine Sinclair. She says top players challenge you constantly and demand a programme of excellence. Having joined Chelsea for the last five games of 2012, she rates the Super League a cut above the W-League and just below WPS. She plans daily training at Cobham and a full-time development manager, has signed Icelandic pair Edda Gardarsdottir and Olina Vidarsdottir plus Katie Holtham and Eniola Aluko, and warns that Rome was not built in a day.