Wolves Women column: Dan McNamara ready to build on whirlwind 2025 with ambitious 2026

Happy New Year everyone! It’s great to be writing again in the Express & Star as we head into 2026, and I hope you all had a wonderful festive period.

I had hoped to be writing this column with Wolves Women five points clear at the top of the FA Women’s National League, but unfortunately the weather gods were not in our favour last weekend as our top-of-the-table clash at Burnley fell foul of the cold snap we’ve been having lately. 

Perhaps most disappointing was that we didn’t have confirmation of the postponement until we had reached our team meeting spot in Bolton – but the girls made the most of it and tried to enjoy their day trip up the M6!

Needless to say, the group were really up for the game with what was at stake, so I hope they can use that motivation in what is another big fixture for us this weekend against West Brom in the FA WNL Cup quarter-final.

More on that shortly, but I’d like to take a moment to reflect on what a whirlwind of a year 2025 was for Wolves Women. After the disappointment of the summer, I would never have imagined going into 2026 that we would be at the top of the league, two points clear of a full-time team and with a real chance of achieving our goals this season. 

The buy-in from the players – both new and old – and everyone within the club has been second to none. To have been on TV twice in the FA Cup and made history, as well as going a full calendar year unbeaten in the league, are memories that we will never forget. However, they won’t mean much if we don’t capitalise on them. We are still in two cup competitions too – and they are competitions we want to win.

That starts this weekend as we face our local rivals in the Black Country Derby. Our last game before Christmas was a 3-0 win at their place in the league and I was delighted with how dominant we were in the victory. But knockout football is always a little different from league football and we don’t expect the Baggies to make it easy for us at Telford. 

A place in the last four is naturally our target and we have full belief that we can achieve that. It has been over a month since we were last at the SEAH Stadium, so it’ll also be good to be back home on a surface we’re used to and where we feel we can play our best game.

Finally, as we turn the page into 2026, our focus is clear and our ambition remains high. We know nothing is achieved in January, but the position we are in has been earned through hard work, resilience and togetherness, and now we must build on it.

The challenge this weekend is another opportunity to show our standards on a big occasion and push towards silverware. I want to thank every supporter for their incredible backing throughout 2025, home and away. We hope for a successful 2026 together, and I’d urge you all to get behind the team on Sunday.

Macca