Ipswich Women hope signings can inspire promotion

Captain Maria Boswell has been with Ipswich Women for six years

By BBC Look East's Jonathan Park and Paul Grunill

Ipswich Town Women are determined to ride the wave created by the men's team and take a step closer to the top flight of the English game.

Six players have been brought in over the summer, some with experience at Women's Super League clubs, as Ipswich look to secure promotion from the third tier after finishing fourth last season.

They began the new FAW National League Southern Premier campaign with an impressive 3-0 away win against Oxford United.

"We want to follow in the men's footsteps, they've done so well over the last couple of years with their back-to-back promotions and we're so eager for that to be us," skipper Maria Boswell told BBC Look East.

"We want that success, like they've had, but we don't see that as pressure, we know what is expected of us and what it takes to deliver that. We just hope the season ahead is that time for us."

Major changes were set in motion in January with the appointment of Rachel Harris as general manager and an "aggressive" transfer policy led to the likes of Ella Rutherford and Angela Addison from Championship side Charlton and goalkeeper Natalia Negri, who helped Crystal Palace win promotion to the top flight last term, arriving at the club.

They also agreed a dual registration deal with Arsenal for exciting 17-year-old striker Isabella Fisher and, as part of the upgrade of the team, there is now an extra training day each week.

"The recruitment strategy at the back end of last season and in the off season has been pivotal for us," said Harris.

"Joe [Sheehan, women's team manager] and I sat down fairly early after me coming into the role. We planned really early and targeted what we needed.

"The average age of our squad last season was 20 and when you're trying to push to that next level, we just needed [to add] that experience. That's what I feel we've done."

'Such a buzz around the place'

Rachael Harris' role at Ipswich is new to the women's programme

Ipswich Women normally play their home games in Felixstowe but attracted a crowd of 10,173 when they appeared at Portman Road for the first time in March, beating Chatham Town 5-0, an experience Harris is keen for them to repeat at least once this season.

"Around the place there's such a buzz - the staff, players, all the teams, academy, men's and women's - so it's a great place to be, not only inside the club but also outside of it. You can see the buzz around the community, in the town, all the new kits being worn," she said.

The men's team were never allowed to get ahead of themselves no matter how good their results during the back-to-back promotion campaigns which carried them from League One to the Premier League under head coach Kieran McKenna.

And that is a policy being followed by Sheehan, who has been in charge since February 2019.

"It [promotion] is always the target at the start of the season and it very much is this season - but we're very much in the mindset of taking each game as it comes and seeing where that gets us," said Boswell.

"We have high aspirations and are looking forward to the season ahead."

Ipswich's first home game of the season on Sunday is a tough one against Hashtag United, who finished as runners-up to Portsmouth last season and also upset Newcastle United to win the Women's National League Cup.

For Sheehan, though, it is only one step - albeit a significant one - towards their ultimate objective, playing in the Championship in the 2025-26 season.

"We're well established in this division now and have come close on a couple of occasions. I think we've won 10, 11 games in a row on two or three occasions and still haven't managed to win promotion so we know it's difficult," he said.

Sheehan believes the new faces in the squad have already had a "huge impact" and added: "We're hopeful that the crowds and the attention around us will keep growing over the course of the season because it will be really important for our future.

"The town and community and club as a whole have been going in a positive direction and we're riding that wave as well now.

"There's a strong appetite for it. If we can perform to a high level and be consistent, who knows where we might end up?"