Liverpool boss Matt Beard insists his Barclays Manager of the Season award is “a big accolade for everyone” after finishing fourth in the Women’s Super League.
Liverpool achieved their highest position since 2014, when they won the WSL title, and ended the campaign with four straight wins including victories over Chelsea and Manchester United, which helped them finish above the latter.
Beard was recognized for his team’s performance during the season by receiving an award at the League Managers Association dinner.
“I’m very grateful and very humbled,” Beard told the PA news agency.
“It’s wonderful to see that the work we’ve done is recognized as always, we couldn’t do it without the staff and players, so this award is not only about me, but about the team, so from that side it’s a great recognition for everyone.
“It’s not just me. I am in charge of everything, but the players played, the staff worked tirelessly for the club.
“It’s interesting, can we give an award for the whole team and not the manager, because there’s a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes with people we don’t see.
“I’m a bit embarrassed about it all to be honest with you, but personally I couldn’t do what I do without the people I have with me.”
Liverpool’s fourth place finish behind Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal took them one place away from Champions League qualification, which Beard insists is the next obvious target for them as they look to build on a successful season.
He added: “The Champions League is a logical next step for us. We have no illusions about how difficult it will be, you can even throw Manchester United into it, how much they spend.
“Statistically we were a lot better than where we were last year, so now we have to take it to the level next season.
“It’s going to be difficult to break into the top three, Man United are the only team to do it – that’s our ambition, but for me it’s about how we improve this season’s points tally.”
Liverpool previously shared a training ground with League Two club Tranmere before spending a few weeks at the men’s AXA training centre, but have returned to the men’s team’s former Melwood facility ahead of the 2023-24 season.
Beard insists the move to their own facility has been key to their success on the field this season.
He said: “Whenever you share a facility like we did at Tranmere – and I’ve had a great working relationship with the staff there – it’s their training ground so we have to work around them all the time.
“Even when we were at the academy in pre-season, we had to work around the (under)21s to have our own bespoke facility, it’s vital so we don’t have to move training sessions or classroom sessions for any reason.
“The facility itself is world class, a lot of history has been made here, so that has had a big impact on the players as well.”
