Brighton women manager Hope Powell leaves the club after Sunday's 'embarrassing' 8-0 defeat against Spurs
Hope Powell has stepped down from her role as Brighton manager following an 8-0 thrashing by Tottenham on Sunday.
The former England manager, who joined the Seagulls in 2017, admitted the defeat against Spurs was ‘embarrassing’ in her post-match interview.
In a statement, Powell sighted squad changes as one of the reasons for a ‘challenging’ start to the season and said she believes it is the right time for a new coach to take the team forward.
‘We’ve had a very challenging start to the new season with many changes to our squad and results not going as we had all hoped,’ Powell said. ‘Sunday’s heavy loss at home to Tottenham was particularly disappointing.
‘As a club, we’ve made a lot of progress in the past five years, but I feel now is the right time to step aside and allow a new coach to take the team forward with plenty of Super League football still to play this season.’
Michelle Walder, chair of Brighton’s women’s and girls’ football club board thanked Powell for her contribution to the club over the last five years.
‘Hope’s contribution to the development of women’s and girls’ football at our club, and for the women's game in this country, cannot be underestimated,’ Walden said.
Hope has established Brighton & Hove Albion in the Women's Super League, has overseen the opening of a new state-of-the-art women’s and girls’ teams training facility at our club, and has undoubtedly inspired further generations of young girls to play football. We wish her well for the future.’
Amy Merricks, supported by Alex Penny and Perry Northeast, will take interim charge of Brighton’s next league match against West Ham.
Brighton invested heavily into their women’s team over the last five years and last season moved them into a a new £8.5million training facility, located next to the base of the men’s team.
But the Seagulls lost key players like Maya Le Tissier and Inessa Kaagman over the summer and have struggled to replace them.
They started the season with a 4-0 defeat by Arsenal but responded with a 2-1 victory over Reading. However, they then suffered back-to-back defeats against Manchester United and Chelsea before Sunday’s thrashing by Spurs.
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