This Sunday will see the start of the Genero Adran Premier League big kick off, with our Women’s team entering their third season in the top-flight. The opening fixture will see the Linnets travel West to take on Aberystwyth Town at Park Avenue.

It has been a summer of change at Jenner Park with the newly appointment management team of Stevie McCarthy-Campbell and his assistant Tony Barnett arriving in June to lead the team ahead of the new 2023-24 season. Both already have strong connections to the club having worked within the academy structure and will add great knowledge and experience alongside existing club staff.

In addition to the new backroom team, there have been a number of exciting arrivals at Jenner Park ahead of the new season. Chloe Tiley, Emily Freeman, Caitlin Davies, Lucy Attwood and Amy Williams all bring strong Adran Premier experience to the squad, as well exciting young prospects such as India Shanahan, Angharad Beman, Vera Jones, Aimee Deacon and Sophie McMullen being part of the squad during pre-season.

Ahead of the opening league fixture, we caught up with Stevie to discuss the pre-season and to get his thoughts on the new campaign.

Q: With pre-season now over, how have you settled into the club and what’s you thoughts on the pre-season campaign?
I have settled in quickly and that is simply down to the players and staff of the club. Everyone has been so welcoming from the first meeting and all the players have really bought into the way we are doing things both on and off the field.

Pre season has been a little stop start with a few changes to games but we have managed to get some good tests with teams in both Wales and England with a good mix of levels. It is still very early days but we as a squad the players are fit and in good shape and they have adapted well to our new way of playing.

Q: As well as new management, there has also been significant movement within the squad over the summer period. How is the squad shaping up as we enter our third season in the Adran Premier?
The new players have fitted in well with the existing players and we can already see some new bonds/partnerships that have been created in such a short period of time. We have got good strength and depth in the squad this season and therefore, it will give me a few headaches along the way in terms of picking the match day squads let alone the starting line ups each week which is always a good place to be as a manager.

Q: First up, we travel to Park Avenue to face Aberystwyth. What are your thoughts going into the opening fixture and how have you planned for the game.
I’m excited for our first game to see how far we have come in a short space of time during pre-season, it’s also good to have a nice away trip as this will give the players more time to bond on the coach.

We have done our homework on Aberystwyth, but they have had a few new arrivals like ourselves in the summer so it is going to be an interesting first game. We know what to expect from them, but we will be focusing on us and making sure we play to our strengths.

Q: What are your ambitions for the season?
It is difficult to say with so many changes in the summer, but being at a club like Barry Town United we always strive to be better than we were last season. So first and foremost, we want to better 7th place which is what we have done in the previous campaigns, but there is a real sense of belief around the place that we are not here for a relegation scrap like the last two seasons.