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'We want to entertain': Highlights from Casey Stoney’s first press conference as CanWNT head coach (ft. Kevin Blue)

Benedict Rhodes
BTFR17
Canada NT

 

Casey Stoney was named the new head coach of the Canadian women’s national team on Monday, signing a contract through the 2027 Women’s World Cup.

She takes her first step into head coaching at the international level after leading the NWSL’s San Diego Wave and WSL’s Manchester United, in addition to a stint as an assistant with the England women’s national team for which she played 130 times during her own playing career.

Stoney spoke to the media after the announcement. Here are some of the highlights of what was said:

Stoney on what drew her to the project

I think there was three real key factors for me. One was the playing group as it stands, and the pathway of talent that’s coming through. It’s incredible, and watching the journey they’ve been on, especially over the last year, and what they’ve been able to do in difficult circumstances. I think number two is the culture of the Canadian players and the people, it’s something that I really aligned to from a values and principles perspective. And number three was it was such an extensive process that we went through, and I obviously had my doubts at first, but the more time I spent with Kevin [Blue] and the leadership at the Canadian association, the senior players that were involved, I wanted to be involved with an organization that was led with real principles and values, and I felt the more time I spent with Kevin, the more I learned about his values and what he wanted to do with Canada Soccer, the more and more I became very engrossed in the project, and the more determined I was to be part of it.

Stoney on introducing herself to the squad

Obviously, it leaked earlier than we would have liked, so we had a call with the players on Saturday morning. I think it’s really important the players heard from me as soon as possible and quite a few have reached out to me personally since. Obviously I worked very closely with Kailen Sheridan at my previous role as well. I’m super excited to get to know them as people, to observe them in their environments and help them, I’m here to to make sure that we can take this program as high as it possibly can go, starting today we’re very much focused on doing as well as we possibly can and bringing a trophy back to Canada.

Stoney on the need for Canada to score more goals

I think one thing I was clear of when I was going through this process is we want to create more goal scoring opportunities. This team can defend, they’re hard to beat. It’s how we build on the possession, how do we be more progressive with the ball? How can we create more goal scoring opportunities? How can we create a freedom within a framework for the players that have got creativity? How can we get the ball forward into attacking areas and bypass it, but not talk about playing direct and talk how do we bypass the line so that we can get our attacking players on the ball in the early phase, as quick as possible? I think I’m not a possession for possession sake coach, it’s about how we can hurt the opponent. What spaces are they giving us? How can we exploit them, and how can we make sure that we are creating and scoring? Because that’s why people pay to come watch you play, we want to entertain. Yes, we want to keep clean sheets, we want to entertain, and we want to make sure that people fall in love with this team and we have a very clear identity and and then we can play exciting football.

Stoney on using her international experience to connect with players

I think the fact that I played 18 years internationally really helps me with the players. I understand some of the things they’ve been through and some of the things they faced, I’ve faced them in my own career. I said to the players on Saturday morning, I’m a player’s coach, but I have trust in Kevin and the way he’s leading this organization. I know that they’ve been through a troubled past, but I’m really confident. I wouldn’t have took this job if I wasn’t confident that it was moving in the right direction. Let’s make that very clear, I am very principle based, I always fight for what’s right for the players, and I’ve been really impressed with the direction this organization is now going in.

Stoney on playing in the 2015 World Cup in Canada

I have to say, the 2015 World Cup was an incredible experience because of the diversity of the cities and how diverse the country is. We travelled quite a lot of distance, quite a few different cities. I spent a lot of time there and I absolutely loved it, so I think one of the excitements about this job is being able to immerse myself in the Canadian culture, to learn more, to be part of the Canadian culture, and it’s something that really excites me because of the diversity that country holds.

Stoney on how success can boost Canadian soccer

Another thing that really interested me about the job was to be able to make a greater impact in Canadian soccer in general, and support the [Northern Super League]. I saw what the WSL did for the English league, also what it did for the English team. It took them on to new heights, the professionalism in the league, and what’s been able to grow. To be able to see that first hand and play in it, and be part of it, and be part of when it initially started, I was very much a part of the building processes. I’ve seen that grow from strength to strength, so to be able to be here now, it’s such an exciting time when the league is starting, I think it’s going to be huge for not just the Canadian soccer landscape, but for the Canadian national team itself.

Stoney on moving on from Canada’s off-field issues at the Paris 2024 Olympics

I think one thing people can’t question about me is my integrity and my principles. I think I’m able to draw the line in the sand with this team, with the players very aware of what they’ve been through, I will listen and I will hear. But this is an opportunity for us now to move forward. The players, I think, did an incredible job, and the remaining staff that were there during the Olympics to be able to put on some fantastic performances and it just shows you the resilience of this group, but now they want to move forward. I don’t think you can question their character at all, it’s about now what we can do moving forward, how we can improve the team, the team’s done fantastic. I’m here to just support, make it better, and make sure that the players are completely focused on what their job is, which is to win football matches.

Stoney on the lack of competitive games in 2025 being a good thing for the team

I think that the fact there is no major tournament this year is a blessing. I think it gives us time to grow together, to learn together, to experiment, to bring in new players, and also to embed the philosophy and the style that we want to play. Players don’t necessarily always like change, so it’s giving us time to do that gradually and make sure that they’re comfortable with the ideas, understand the tactical parts that we’re going to put into them from time to time, and also an opportunity to bring different players into camps so that I can have eyes on everybody. I think it’s a great opportunity for us to explore whilst trying to make sure that we’re putting in performances to win games, build confidence and build trust.

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