Mannion Believes Blues Will Surprise Again this Season (Aoife Mannion interview)

With many tipping Birmingham City for relegation, defender Aoife Mannion insists the word has never been mentioned inside the club. She points to a gritty performance against Arsenal in the FA Cup fifth round, lost on penalties after extra time and without Emily Westwood and Jade Moore, as proof of what a rebuilt squad can do. Karen Carney, she says, was virtually irreplaceable, so Birmingham have not tried to replace her like for like. The twenty-year-old describes choosing football over Gaelic football, which she played alongside boys to Under-14 and which toughened her up physically, and welcomes the club going full time. Good reports from England Under-23 coach Marieanne Spacey have not made her presume anything about a senior call-up.