Inside Crystal Palace’s season: how newcomers are stepping up to WSL | OneFootball

Laura Kaminski’s alarm rings at 5am every day, with the aim of her being as prepared as possible for training with forensic detail. She is clearly a “morning person” and exchanges a knowing look with Crystal Palace’s women’s team press officer when she hints that her “battery starts to run out at four o’clock”. Yet, as the clock ticks towards that time and she sits down for this interview, suddenly she has a new lease of energy, because she is discussing a topic that invigorates her: her parents.

“I owe everything I am to my parents. I was brought up with very good values and morals, with a mother who encouraged constant interpersonal skills, encouraging me to talk to different people, to play, to join in. Those traits in my personality that my parents encouraged [mean] my interactions with other people is probably one of my strongest points as a manager,” she says. “I spent a long time as an assistant coach, so I listened to a lot of moans and groans in groups because assistant coaches often get the conversations that head coaches don’t. I appreciate the players’ thoughts, their reflections, their honesty. Those connections, for me, are vital.”

Kaminski grew up in Bedford as an only child, and was inspired by her chain-smoking former grassroots youth team coach Andy – “a great guy, loved by the players, as he was so encouraging” – to turn her love for football into a coaching career. When she completed her Uefa B Licence coaching qualification, as a 20-year-old, she was the only woman among 84 candidates on the assessment day at the David Beckham Academy. “I was so ambitious, young and hungry, it didn’t deter me. I actually relished that I was different, because I stood out. But I know that feeling for others might be uncomfortable. Female managers fight every day for that ‘odd one out’ feeling to go away, and as I grow, a wider ambition of mine is to really encourage the next generation to come through.”

She is now working towards her Pro Licence – the highest qualification available – as part of an elite cohort that also includes the Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor. Mixing it with Champions League-winning coaches is something Kaminski is getting used to since winning promotion to the Women’s Super League with Crystal Palace last season, and having a lot of what she calls “pinch me moments” this term.

In what was her first season at the club after being appointed as head coach in July 2023, Kaminski’s side won 14 of their 22 league fixtures to clinch the Championship title. So far this term, her side have five points from their opening nine games and although they sit bottom, they trail Leicester only on goal difference, and are just one point behind Aston Villa and Everton in an evenly-contested relegation battle. Also, Palace are already just one point shy of the total points tally last term for relegated side Bristol City.

Reflecting on her team’s campaign so far, Kaminiski says: “It’s new territory for us, to be losing games, and really testing that psychological side. But we knew this was going to be a very difficult season, points were going to be few and far between and very hard to pick up. We’re in the mix, which right now at Christmas I think is still quite respectable, considering the gap and the distance between the two leagues. We’re showing signs, and I’m very proud of that.”

That gap between the leagues is something that Palace’s Scotland midfielder, Chloe Arthur, is well-placed to analyse. The 29-year-old was part of Palace’s promotion-winning side last term and also helped Bristol City to the top tier in 2016, before top-flight spells with both Birmingham and Aston Villa.

Speaking before Sunday’s visit of Manchester United, Arthur said: “We picked up points, which was important to get those on board early for that confidence. I think the step up is harder, because going back to [when] we got promoted at Bristol, all the players in the league had a professional attitude but there wasn’t necessarily the infrastructure across all the clubs. Whereas now, women’s football’s grown so much, the league attracts quality players from all over the world. It was definitely a challenge back then but it’s even more so now. The players you come up against are world-class.”

There has also been immense off-pitch change at Palace, which is evident at their new state-of-the-art training facility they share with the club’s academy, following a £20m investment. Speaking inside a meeting room in a building that is just weeks old, and referencing her team’s pre-season trip to Utah – the first overseas tour in the women’s team’s history – Kaminski adds: “The support from the board, I can’t speak highly enough. I can pick up the phone to Steve [Parish, chairman] whenever I like and there aren’t many managers who can say that. He quite rightly deserves respect for that. He comes to nearly all of our games and even if he’s missed one, he’s watching online. He texts me before and after every game. That makes me so proud to be here.”

Palace are also evidently proud to have Kaminski, who previously coached within England’s youth setup and had spells on the backroom staff at Tottenham and Charlton. Arthur adds: “Working under Laura has been amazing. She’s so authentic in herself. She brings that human element to the job. She’s got banter but also the serious professional side where she demands standards, so I think we’ve got good balance in our management, and I think she’s been key to our success.”

The game against United offers one more chance to move off the bottom of the table before the WSL goes on its winter break. Kaminski wants her team to be proud of their progress but also aware of the grind that lies ahead.

“We’re playing the best teams in the world in the best league in the world,” she adds. “We’ve got to remember how hard we’ve worked to get here, and also give ourselves a pat on the back sometimes that we are competing – it’s not us at the bottom ‘left behind’. We’ve got to believe we’re going to compete against Manchester United and make sure we give the best performance to represent the club.”

Header image: [Photograph: Tom Jenkins/The Guardian]