Bailey-Gayle Aiming For 'Best Season Possible' In WSL
- LCFC Women forward Paige Bailey-Gayle spoke to LCFC TV at Belvoir Drive this week
- The 19-year-old was back out on the pitch after an injury on Sunday, against Liverpool Women
- The friendly against the FA Women’s Championship side was a first pre-season outing for the squad
- Bailey-Gayle also discussed the excitement surrounding entering the Women’s Super League
Getting a total of 45 minutes under her belt after a long-term injury, it was a welcome run-out for the former Arsenal academy graduate, who also provided an update on her current fitness condition.
“It was the best feeling ever to be out there with the girls,” the 19-year-old, who scored six goals in 2020/21, told LCFC TV. “It was a great feeling and I’m happy, but it’s just the start of my journey again.
“I’m slowly getting back into it. I’m still feeling it a bit in the legs and a bit in the chest, but other than that, I’m feeling good, I’m feeling fresh and just building myself back up to where I was before.
“Playing with players that I did at Arsenal, learning things from them, hopefully I can bring it to the team and obviously being in the Championship is a lot different, but I can use what I learned in the Championship going into the WSL.”
The forward had been out since rupturing her medial collateral ligament during training in mid-March and missed the FA Women’s Championship run-in, including the clinching of the second-tier trophy with victory over London City Lionesses.
“It was totally mixed emotions,” she continued. “It’s hard watching them go out and play week in week out, and obviously I was gutted that I got injured.
“I trusted in the girls, I knew they would do it and we had been working from the start of the season to get the job done. We did it but it was just a bit hard for me being injured for so long.”
Enjoying a pre-season schedule at Belvoir Drive for the first time, the squad have been able to take advantage the impressive facilities available, something Bailey-Gayle is enjoying, in order to go into the new season in peak physical shape.
The striker added: “It’s the best facility for us and in women’s football no one has really got a ground like this so we’re going to utilise it to the best of our ability so that we can have the best season possible.
“We’ve been getting minutes in the tank, learning what we need to do before the season starts, getting to know each other as team-mates and friends and players.
“A lot of the girls haven’t been up there in the WSL but a lot have been there so if we can put our experience and talent together, hopefully we’ll do well and accomplish our goals.”