The She Kicks Locker Room: Captain’s Chat with Tash Harding (Reading)

Reading’s captain describes a leadership style built almost entirely on not pretending. Appointed regular skipper of the Royals in the summer, Tash Harding says she has taken bits from captains she has worked under while trying to keep her own personality, and credits Kelly Chambers with letting her do it – the advice she says will stick with her forever is be yourself and don’t change. Her two proudest moments are Wales taking three points in Belarus and Reading’s first win of the season, 1-0 at Liverpool, which she admits was not a fine performance. On responsibility after the whistle she is practical: some players want to reflect immediately and others want to be left alone, and knowing which is which is the part of the job she thinks she is good at.