Scott Phelan's Everton Women side moved up to fifth in the Women's Super League table following their 2-1 win over Birmingham City at Goodison Park on Sunday. Head coach Scott Phelan wants to see more of the football his team have displayed in “flashes” so far in his tenure going forward.
Phelan's journey and early results
A lifelong Evertonian who captained the Blues' Under-18s and reserve sides before starting his senior career at Bradford City, the 38-year-old was a coach working within the men's academy section at Finch Farm when he was initially named interim replacement for Dane Brian Sorensen in February. The Scouser landed the position on a permanent basis on June 23, and after the win over Birmingham, his side go into the first international break of the season sitting fifth.
Taking stock of where he is up to, some eight months into the job, Phelan told the ECHO: “Personally, for me, there has been lots of growth, development, opportunities and experiences that maybe you don’t get in the previous role that I had. We’ve tried to embrace them as best we can.
“In terms of the team, that’s something that we continue to work to improve upon. While we’re working on understanding each other a little better, it’s important that we pick up points.
“I think we’ve shown little flashes of playing in the style that I’d want. We need to be more consistent with both our training and our output on matchdays when it comes to our performance levels.
“The challenge for all of us is to show what we’ve displayed in those flashes in longer periods of games.”
Match details and competitive WSL
Everton triumphed through a Ruby Mace brace against Birmingham, with the defensive midfielder firing them ahead on 12 minutes when she reacted quickest to Yuka Momiki’s shot hitting the post. The visitors restored parity just three minutes later when Oceane Hurtre collected Chancelle Effa Effa’s through-ball and slotted into the bottom corner. However, the home side claimed all three points 18 minutes from the end as Mace’s effort from the edge of the box flew into the far corner via two deflections.
Other than the 2-0 Merseyside derby defeat to Liverpool at Anfield the previous weekend, the Blues’ other four WSL fixtures so far this term have all been settled by a single-goal margin, and Phelan believes that is testament to how competitive the division is. He said: “I think we’re seeing it across the board. We’ve experienced that with our own fixtures and there have been a lot of results so far that were maybe unexpected.
“I think the level is more competitive across the board and that can only improve the standard overall and continue to push the growth of the WSL. I think it’s a positive, but we know that every point that we earn is hard fought.”
Hannah Blundell's impact
Another new arrival for Everton Women in 2026 is England international Hannah Blundell. The right-back, who won three caps for the Lionesses in 2018 while with Chelsea, arrived on loan from Manchester United on January 9 and made a permanent switch on July 20. Now 32, Phelan believes her experience has been valuable to the group.
He said: “I think we’ve got a number in the changing room who have had some really, really important experiences throughout their careers so far and Hannah is one of them.
“She’s played at a really high level and is a really important reference for the younger players who are still in the phase of developing. Her conduct on and off the pitch makes it easy for her to be a positive role model for those young players and we hope that can have an impact on those who we brought in over the summer in terms of standards, behaviours and expectation and Hannah can hopefully help us in that part.”
