Mark Sampson says he believes “the most together team will be the last to go home” as England Women begin a month‑long training camp before the European Championship this summer. With hopes high after England’s third-place finish at the 2015 World Cup in Canada, Sampson says players and staff are focused on being “the best on the planet” and have not discussed any outcome other than winning the trophy.
Speaking before preparations that include friendlies, the first of which is on Saturday away against Switzerland, and a warm-weather training camp in Spain, Sampson said: “I think that the key quality in this tournament will be togetherness. The most together team will definitely be the team that is last to go home.
“We’ll be working hard on the training pitch to make sure we’re fit, to make sure we understand what we’re trying to do and to make sure that whatever the opponent throws at us we’ve got the relevant weapons to find a way to win. Refusing to go home, find a way to win, and staying together.
“I believe this team has the ability to be the best in the world, 100%. There’s been nothing on my mind since the final whistle of the [World Cup] semi-final than how we’re going to win this event. I’ve never once discussed with the players about getting through the group, of getting to this stage or whatever. It’s about winning.
“That’s no guarantee we’ll win. – of course it’s not. We might lose our first two and be eliminated. But our focus is completely on doing everything we can to give us the best possible chance to win this event.”
Sampson earned criticism from inside the women’s game after he named his 23-strong squad three months before the tournament and before the Spring Series, the climactic event in a reshaped Women’s Super League. Yet the England manager defended his decision and said the announcement was a necessary part of the squad’s preparation.
“I’ve got to give huge credit to the players,” he said. “They were all made aware of the announcement and their confirmed places in the squad early and I think the work they have put in has been incredibly diligent and professional. I’ve been really impressed with their level of performance [in the Spring Series] but I’ve also been impressed by their work away from the field. This was always the intention, to do the work behind the scenes that makes the big difference when you’re put in front of all the cameras.
“We said we need to rip into each other and have a right good go at this Spring Series. We said we had to compete, to tackle, to fight, to push each other. I think we arrive now with the right balance between toughness and freshness.”
England are planning to stay to the end of a tournament being hosted by the Netherlands and which begins on 16 July. “We’re looking at it that we’re away from 5 June to 7 August which seems a really long time,” Sampson said. “So we try to have a good balance as to when we switch on. When we do switch on with this team we demand the highest of standards, work ethic, competitiveness, learning – all the key qualities to be the best on the planet. But when we switch off we want to have fun, we want to enjoy ourselves and we’ve got a great balance, I think.
“I’m excited by the programme we’ve got, but like anything it’s great to see it on paper, but it’s the people that make it come alive. That’s the staff, that’s the players, that have to make it come alive and make it the best possible preparation camp they’ve ever had.”
