‘It was emotional’ – Aston Villa boss Ward discusses exit announcement after win at Brighton | OneFootball

Aston Villa head coach Carla Ward said that there were tears in her dressing room when she broke the news of her decision to step down.

The Villans announced Ward’s resignation from her role yesterday. She will bring the curtain down a three-year spell with Aston Villa at the end of the current season.

Aston Villa’s first game following the announcement was at Brighton & Hove Albion this afternoon. The players were able to give Ward one final happy memory on the road with Aston Villa grinding out a 1-0 win in Crawley. When speaking to WSL Full-Time after the match, Ward said that the players and staff were only told of her decision to step down yesterday before going on to explain how her commitment to the job has taken it’s toll over a lengthy period.

“I told the players and staff yesterday,” Ward said. “It has been a conversation that has been ongoing for a couple of months with the Board. It has been harder because they have tried everything to get me to stay. They’ve been absolutely brilliant, they’ve offered me support with the little one, they’ve offered me everything that you can possibly think of to stay.

“Sometimes, you have to recognise when you need a break and you need to breathe. As I have eluded to in the past, I leave my house at 5.30am and it’s a 200-mile trip in and back every day. It’s one that after four years, has taken it’s toll.

“I’m exhausted. I want a break, I want to spend time with my little girl, reflect and recharge and I think I’ll come back better for it.”

Ward is someone who prides herself on strong personal relationships in the game both internally and externally. She went on to say that breaking the news was emotional for herself and her dressing room.

She said “I’ve signed them all; it was emotional with the staff and the players. There were tears, that’s the reality; I’ve got good relationships with everyone. It was tough for me to tell them, I built myself up to tell them and then blubbered a little bit.

“They know that I care about them, they know they have a manager who has tried to bring out the best in them and I’ve given them a platform to be people rather than players. It’s something that I pride myself on and I’ll continue to have good relationships with them.”

Aston Villa’s players responded positively to Ward’s news on the pitch, delivering a good performance against Brighton & Hove Albion. Alisha Lehmann’s second half goal was enough to earn The Villans a thoroughly-deserved three points. Ward said that she has challenged her players to make more memories in her final two games in charge.

She said “I said to the girls yesterday that we have two big weeks and we can either roll over or we can use this to dig deep and really enjoy ourselves together. We’ve created a lot of memories together, so let’s create a couple more in the last couple of weeks.

“They were excellent and credit to them with the way that they applied themselves today.”

Ward’s final match in charge of Aston Villa is against Manchester City at Villa Park on Saturday 18 May 2024.