Renewed trust at the top helping Wolves Women continue impressive form

A 2-0 FA Cup win over Stoke City on Friday saw McNamara's side extend their winning run to 15 consecutive matches, while they are still in the race for promotion to the second tier this season.

They will now face Nottingham Forest at home in the next round of the FA Cup, in a bid to continue their impressive campaign.

The women's side endured a difficult summer, however, after it was revealed that club bosses decided not to apply for a tier two licence, despite the team fighting for promotion until the final day of the season, meaning they would have been denied promotion even if they had achieved it on the pitch.

Many Wolves Women players criticised the club on social media and after a huge backlash from fans and the wider footballing community, Wolves released a statement saying they are committed to growing their women's team in the long-term. 

McNamara says that Wolves bosses are following up on that commitment.

"It's the trust between me and the players," McNamara said when asked about support from above.

"I've always said to them, when the ambition matches mine of the club, then I'll stay.

"I love the club. I've grown really fond of it in the last eight years, so as long as their ambitions match mine of trying to get into full-time professional WSL action, then I will keep going with giving my all for the football club.

"So that trust is there between me and the players, they trust what I say. I've listened to the chairman and the sporting director, and they've reassured me that we're still on the right tracks. We're on the right journey.

"It was a slight derailment, but we're back on it. The support's there, which has allowed us to bring in some fantastic players over the summer.

"There's plans for us to start thinking about what next year looks like if we were to do the promotion, which ultimately we know has to be full-time, it's a professional league now.

"So all the right things are being said, and I think I've just got to keep focusing on what I do best, and that's making sure the girls are ready and keep putting on performances like we have done, winning games of football, because it's all irrelevant unless we win games of football."

There have been a growing list of players that have signed part-time contracts with Wolves Women since the controversy in the summer.

And McNamara has been able to maintain the team's strong displays as they take more steps to becoming full-time.

"People keep asking me and the secret is you keep good people together," he added.

"We've managed to create something that people want to be part of.

"You've seen that over the summer. We had a difficult summer where we might not have signed anyone because of what happened.

"But when you create a good environment, a good culture, then people want to stay and people want to join and be part of that success.

"A lot of people will say, how do you keep doing it? Well, it's the girls that keep doing it. I keep giving them the platform to improve as individuals and keep putting the right staff in place to help them on their journey.

"But it's the girls that keep performing. We just keep trying to give them the right messages, keep trying to give them everything that we possibly can within the limitations that we have. The credit goes to them."