New Reay of Light (Melanie Reay interview)

Melanie Reay took charge at Sunderland after a January announcement that the women’s section would cut its budget and move from full-time back to a semi-professional model, and Carlton Fairweather’s departure by mutual agreement in February. A former forward and regular top scorer at the club, then Centre of Excellence coach and assistant to both Mick Mulhern and Fairweather, she calls the step a natural progression and insists things are not as negative as people may think: the whole club is restructuring and the squad still trains at the Academy of Light. Every departure gives another player a chance, she says, and pre-season has been about creating an identity for a squad full of new players.