The Big Kick Off: Becky Spencer

Birmingham City goalkeeper Becky Spencer notes that the volume of contact time is new to the squad, who now train near enough every day, and reports that players have adapted well and look sharp. Illness kept her out at the start of pre-season, which is why simply getting back and seeing the girls was her highlight. Running, she says flatly, is something she and it do not get on. Her aims are to carry on from last year, stay injury free and improve daily, and the one change she would make is to magic her close family up to Birmingham more often. Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea is her chosen celebrity fan, she nominates Alex Windell as her slave on the grounds that she already cooks dinner most evenings, and rates Birmingham’s defence the meanest.