Facing Arsenal is a 'no-lose situation' for Saints says Spacey-Cale

Five years on from her arrival at Southampton FC Women, Spacey-Cale is preparing her side to face Arsenal, the giants of Women's football, with whom she won countless trophies as a player.

Thursday evening's clash at St Mary's, which could set a new club attendance record for a women's game, is a checkpoint moment.

When Spacey-Cale arrived, Saints were plying their trade in the fifth tier of women's football.

Now they sit third in the Championship with ambitions of reaching the Women's Super League at the end of the season.

“We are five years into the journey and we are in the Championship already, two of those years were Covid as well - we reflect on that a lot," Spacey-Cale tells the Daily Echo.

For Southampton, a test against Arsenal, semi-finalists in last season's Women's Champions League, will be a measuring stick of their current standing in the game. 

“We have to remember where we were. We have to embrace where we are now and also aspire to be where we want to be.

“That’s the key message for me and the staff - we don’t want to stand still. This will be a great opportunity for us to see where we are.

“There are the games where you want your players to perform and realise what the next level is. Part of that next level is playing in front of big crowds.

“This is what we have always wanted, so we have got to go and enjoy it. We have to embrace the game and play in front of home fans who will be really key to supporting us on the day.

“For me, if we can perform and compete, that’s really important. Whatever happens, we will learn from this experience. We are in a no-lose situation.

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“We aren’t expected to win, but we want to compete and show that we are capable of doing that. The most important thing will be what we learn as a squad and a group of staff.

“Whether, as a player, you learn about how many touches to make or what decisions you should be making as a coach, we have to ensure we come away with from the game having gained something."

Saints' rise has been quick and littered with trophies. One would be forgiven for thinking that Spacey-Cale, a serial winner in her playing days, would have desired for that rise to be even quicker.

However, the 57 year old believes that their growth has been at a perfect speed, allowing the club to develop their infrastructure and hire the correct off-field staff.

“We have done it at a pace that has allowed us to learn and develop our own players. We have given them a chance to play in women’s football, not just academy football.

“We’ve had teenagers playing in senior women’s football. We’ve been able to do that because of the speed of our growth. Those players have learned about how to play at that level.”

Now, Spacey-Cale would like to see the process of reaching the top level of the women’s game sped up.

“The pace has been right for us, but now I want to accelerate it. I want to be in the WSL where we can compete against these clubs week in and week out.

“But the Championship is a challenging league. The opportunity to play Arsenal will show us what it’s going to take for us to get there.”

As Spacey-Cale mentioned, Saints have handed opportunities to youngsters developed in their academy system throughout their rise through the divisions.

Ella Morris, Kayla Rendell and Lucia Kendell are just three players who have been mainstays on the journey with Saints and remain regular fixtures in the first team.

Southampton will honour other players who have been a part of the journey and have since departed by inviting them to St Mary’s on Thursday evening.

“There are players who have been here throughout the journey and this is a great chance for them to know where they are at. It would be remiss of us not to remember the players who have been here as well.

“We have had some great squads over the last five years. This is a celebration of where we are at and where we want to go. It’s important that they know they’ve been a part of that.”