Former Arsenal defender and current Manchester United head coach Casey Stoney has said that the Women’s Super League is ‘poorer as a league’ for Joe Montemurro leaving the division.
The Australian announced earlier this week that he was set to leave the club at the end of the season after what will be a total of four years in charge.
And for Stoney, who had two spells with the Gunners and thinks that her time at the club should have resulted in more silverware, his impact has been profound.
“I have to say, I have so much respect for Joe [Montemurro]. I was at Arsenal at a time where we probably should've won things and didn't,” she said.
“I think he came in with the right leadership, changed things around, got the respect of the players. The players love him, which I think speaks volumes of him as a person.”
In Montemurro’s time at the helm, Arsenal have won both the Women’s Super League and Continental Cup while also finishing as runners-up in the latter twice and doing the same in the FA Cup once.
The managerial merry-go-round will recommence in the WSL after Montemurro’s departure, with plenty of former Gunners players linked with the vacancy, including ex-Wales boss Jayne Ludlow - but Stoney was quick to state that she herself is happy with her current role.
“I think he's done tremendously for the game in this country and I think we're poorer as a league for him leaving, I really do," she continued.
“There's now a job for someone. I know I've been linked but I'm happy where I am.”
