63 Quotes by Karen Bardsley

Just normalising the idea of women playing football is a massive part of what we need to do.

I trained alongside full-grown men at college and worked with some great male keepers. It helped me 100% with speed of play, speed of reactions, and strength. The mindset they gave me was invaluable.

If you speak to girls who play football alongside lads, they'll tell you that you almost have to earn the right to play with them. It's annoying that you have to do that, but once you've done it, the barriers are down.

There's no point going to a tournament if you don't want to win.

I grew up watching Mia Hamm, Brandi Chastain, watching them achieve.

Beating the Germans for the first time in our history was massive.

Goalkeeping in women's football is catching up slowly. It is continuing to modernise, improving technically and physically.

My big thing is we need to change how people feel about goalkeeping. I don't think there is enough respect for the position in the game, whether male or female. There is a stigma that you have to be a certain size or not very good with your feet, or you have had to go in goal as a last resort.

To build more interest in goalkeeping, we have to change how people think and report on goalkeepers. You are not just there to keep the ball out of the back of the net: you are there to impact the back four, to organise the team, essentially lead from the back. It is a really pivotal position.