Nottingham Forest defender Kirsty Smith says that the club will be aiming high in their first season in Barclays WSL2.
The Tricky Trees finally achieved promotion to the elite game by winning the FA Women’s National League Northern Premier Division title in 2024/2025.
Smith is one of several impressive additions made by Nottingham Forest over the summer. When commenting on the club’s aspirations for the coming season, she said that the East Midlands side are aiming high.
“We have ambition, we are going to aim high,” Smith said. “You need to be realistic with it but we have shown over pre-season that we are bringing in players and we want to compete.
“It’s going to be a very competitive league but we’re going to aim high.”
It has been six years since Smith last played in the second tier but the defender says that the WSL2 is an attractive proposition for top players.
She said “There’s a big pull there, you can see the players that have come into the league. It’s about having that team that you want to be successful with and aiming high.
“The competition makes it really exciting and having that week in, week out is one of the big pulls going into that league.
“It’s going to be interesting to see where we do sit but we have a lot of ambition, as do a lot of other clubs in that league. It’s going to be exciting.”
Smith was a Barclays WSL2 title-winner with Manchester United back in 2018/2019 and the player went on to highlight some of the major changes in the league in the last six years.
She said “A lot more teams have gone full-time and there’s an ambition to invest in clubs, make the changes that they need to make. There’s a lot more investment now, so that’s a big thing.
“Clubs are almost at the same level in terms of being ambitious with it. They want to compete, they don’t just want to stay where they are; everyone is pushing to be higher, so it’s a big thing.”
Going on to discuss playing styles in Barclays WSL2, Smith said that Nottingham Forest need to be prepared for opposition counter-attacks.
She said “Being in the league previously, you can see it’s a lot more transitional, a lot of teams want to catch you on the counter. It is the same kind of tactics but for us as a team, we want to build out and play. We don’t always want to play on the counter but you need to be prepared for other teams doing that. That’s one of the big things playing in WSL2.”
Nottingham Forest kick-off the new Barclays WSL2 season with a home fixture against Newcastle United on Sunday. Tickets are on-sale and can be purchased by clicking here.
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