SOUTHAMPTON FC Women head coach Remi Allen insists the club are aiming for promotion in her first season in charge.
The 33 year old has replaced Marieanne Spacey-Cale in the dugout following her transition to director of women's football.
Allen is confident Saints will give everything to achieve their aim but admitted she expects this to be the toughest Championship season in history.
Allen's former club London City Lionesses have invested heavily this summer, while the likes of Bristol City and Newcastle could also challenge for the sole promotion spot.
Speaking to the Daily Echo, Allen said: "We're ambitious. We want to be at the top, trying to compete to get promoted but in the same breath, there'll be five, six, maybe seven teams in this league all competing to do that.
"I think it'll be the toughest championship season that there's ever been. But we'll be doing our best to challenge and be at the very top at the end of the season."
As a veteran of the women's game - having made her Leicester City debut in 2008 - Allen is proud to see how competitive the Championship has become.
However, she quipped that promotion would have been much easier had the division not strengthened significantly over the last few seasons.
"I think from being in the game for a very long time, I'm really proud of where we're at," Allen continued.
"The WSL has been thriving for many years and keeps doing that. The Championship now seems to be really jumping on board with that.
"We've got some top teams in the league. Obviously, from a manager's perspective, yeah, it'd be wonderful if you could just breeze it and win a league.
"But, you know, that's not the reality and we almost don't want that. We want the competitiveness with the games and the players challenging each other week in and week out.
"The bigger and better the games are in terms of competition, in terms of technical ability - were always going to get desire from the women's game regardless - helps.
"The more we can grow that, the more fans are going to come. The more that the league grows and it becomes bigger and it's televised.
"There's a massive plan for the women's game. We're obviously all on board with it and it's exciting times."
Despite stepping away from the coaching side, Spacey-Cale remains a figure Allen can approach for advice as she takes the next steps in her coaching career.
Although only in her first full season as a senior coach, Allen is not new to the dugout. The retired midfielder has been coaching since the age of 16, juggling that duty with her playing career.
"I've worked at every single age group in an RTC that you can possibly work with. I've worked with 21s. When I was younger, I was doing the college team.
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"I've worked with England as an assistant coach, I've done analysis work for England. I've only just stepped out of playing, my journey has been 10 or 15 years of work.
"So it's not just one of them where I've just gone, I'm a player, now I'm a coach, the groundwork's been laid. When this coaching opportunity became available, I was ready to step in and take it."
When she took the head coach role at London City earlier this year, it brought an end to her playing career.
In Allen's eyes, her recent retirement gives her a better perspective of what the players of today demand from their head coach.
"I think there's obviously pros and cons to any place that you come in at. From being an ex-player very recently, I do get it.
"I do get exactly what they're sitting there and feeling when I'm naming a team or I'm asking them to do certain things.
"I'm very aware of where I can help them a little bit more, where sometimes you give a little bit because you get a lot more back from them.
"That's the huge benefit of literally just retiring is that you're connected to the players and you understand it."
Allen inherited a squad which had lost a number of key figures. Star player Ella Morris opted against signing a new contract in order to move to WSL side Spurs.
Attackers Katie Wilkinson and Sophia Pharoah also turned down new deals having finished last season as joint top goalscorers at the club.
Saints also lost skipper Rosie Parnell, Laura Rafferty and Lexi Lloyd-Smith - all players who have played significant roles since promotion to the Championship.
"A lot of that stuff happened before I joined the club, so when I joined the club, I knew exactly what I was joining," Allen explained.
"There was never a worry or a concern about that. I was confident in the players who were already coming through the building even before I arrived.
"We are always trying to add on top of that but it was one of them. It happens. Good players come, good players leave and go on to different things.
"I was happy with where I was coming into and I'm happy with where we are now. Obviously, we'll always look to strengthen when and where possible, but we've got a great bunch."
Saints have added a number of new players to the squad this summer, including Welsh international Rachel Rowe and two-time Championship winner Aimee Palmer.
With the transfer deadline just one week away, Allen was non-committal when asked if the club will seek to add further quality to the squad.
She said: "Never say never. But right now, I'm working with the squad that I've got. We're working really well and nailing stuff on the training ground so we should be in a great place come the opening game."
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