Jill Scott and Casey Stoney go back a long way. For many years they were England roommates, sharing the highs and lows of major tournaments. But on Sunday their enduring friendship will be placed on hold.
Stoney’s hopes of returning her Manchester United side to the top of the Women’s Super League could be contingent on securing a win at fifth-placed Everton, where Scott is expected to make her debut in Willie Kirk’s midfield after signing on loan from Manchester City.
It is Scott’s second stint at the club and she hopes the move will offer her sufficient playing time to remain in contention for not only this summer’s Olympics but next year’s rescheduled European Championship.
Given that she turns 34 on Tuesday, she is also preparing for life after playing and, having served as a part-time coach at City in recent months, it will be no surprise if she emulates Stoney and transplants the dynamism which has won her 149 England caps into management.
“Casey’s a friend, we were England roommates and I know how driven she is so I’m not surprised to see her doing a fantastic job at United,” says Scott in her distinctive Wearside accent. “My coaching at City was about getting on the ladder in something I hope will be a career after [playing] football. I was fortunate enough to do a few sessions with the girls and they said they enjoyed them. I don’t know if they were just being nice but I really did enjoy it. Coming to Everton is about playing, but coaching is something I hope to continue.”
Scott smiles as she explains the contrasting perfectionist and somewhat more lackadaisical aspects of her professional and private personas. “Steph Houghton [the England and City captain] has said how untidy and forgetful I am, which is all true,” she says. “But when it comes to football and coaching, my standards are very high.
There were a few times I really wanted to tell the City girls: ‘It’s got to be better.’ It was a bit of a difficult position to be in, to be honest. But I think you tend to coach how you play, so I definitely demand hard work but with a smile on their faces.”
The chance to reprise the past proved a key factor in Scott’s decision to retrace her steps west across the M62. “When I walked in here, it was like I’d never been away,” she says. “It was 15 years ago I first signed for Everton and it just feels right to be back.
“I’ve got more lines around my eyes than before and there’s extra buildings here because I keep getting lost, but there’s still a friendly staff. This has always been a family club and you can really feel it when you walk through the door.
“Girls from my first time here like Fara Williams and Rachel Brown-Finnis are friends for life now. Maybe I should get them back and we’ll have a five-a-side game against the current team. I don’t know who’d win!”
The big difference these days is that the WSL is fully professional and Scott and her teammates are no longer juggling jobs and studying with football. “One of the biggest changes is I’m now here at 10am and not 10pm,” she says. “I think that shows how far the women’s game has come.
We used to train 8pm-10pm so it’s really special to see players like Chantelle Boye-Hlorkah [the Everton forward], who I used to coach the first time I was here, when she was 11 or 12, playing in the first team now. Chantelle’s been able to see those once impossible dreams of being a professional footballer become reality.”
England’s former manager Phil Neville said he expected Scott to be playing at 40 and the childhood champion cross-country runner believes she has some big games left in her legs.
“I’ve been lucky enough to go to some amazing international tournaments and I think this move should probably keep me in the framework for more,” she says. “The 2012 Olympics was a favourite. Me and Claire Rafferty [the former England left-back] have the Olympic rings tattooed on our sides. They look like five eggs!”
Scott’s humour is as sharp as her passing, but she also harbours an intensely serious side. “I know I’m going to have to be on top of my game to challenge for a place here,” she says. “But I still feel I’ve got a lot to give; I still believe in myself.
“Maybe it would have been easier to stay at City, in my comfort zone, but I want to push myself. I’ve still got the same amount of drive and energy as when I was 21 and I just want to make the most of it.
One of the secrets of Scott’s longevity at the highest level is an apparent inability to coast. “I never feel comfortable in an environment or take selection, or anything else, for granted,” she says. “I always push myself because representing England is a very difficult thing to do.
“Maybe that uncertainty has always been there in my head. I’ve never been one of those people to think: ‘I’m this, I’m that, I should be playing.’ Never.”
