InterviewRachael Laws on new deal with LFC Women: 'It means the world to be staying here'
Rachael Laws outlined Liverpool FC Women's determination to achieve more success in 2024-25 after signing a new contract with the club.
The goalkeeper, a supporters' favourite, returned for a second spell with the Reds in the summer of 2020 after winning the Barclays Women's Super League back in 2013 while she was on loan from Sunderland.
Laws played a major role as Liverpool claimed the 2021-22 FA Women's Championship title, the stopper recording 13 clean sheets to win the division's Golden Glove award.
The 33-year-old made 15 WSL appearances last season as Matt Beard's side finished fourth in the top flight and she is eager to help the club continue to progress as they look forward to a new home venue in 2024-25 with a move to St Helens Stadium.
Shortly after signing her new deal, Laws sat down with Liverpoolfc.com at the AXA Melwood Training Centre. See the interview in full below.
On signing a new contract…
I'm buzzing, absolutely buzzing! This club means so much to me and it's like my second home. I've been here a long time now to know what the club means to myself, my family and my friends even. They are always asking so to sign a new deal here means the world to me.
On what the club means to her…
I don't think there's enough words. It means the world and to achieve what I've achieved with this club and being here as long as I have, to sign a new deal, it's something that I probably never thought I would do here. When you first sign you make the best out of the situation that you are in. Did I think it would last this long? I didn't. But looking back, I've had some fantastic memories and hopefully there are a lot more to come.
On being one of the longest-serving members of the squad…
Going back to 2013 and winning the WSL title here was a memory that will live with me for the longest times. Then coming back and winning the Championship with this group of girls was absolutely fantastic. I've made some friends for life here. Like I said before, did I think it would last this long? No, I didn't, but I'm glad it has and hopefully there's more to come, but looking back what a journey it has been.
On the competition for places among the goalkeepers with Teagan Micah and Faye Kirby…
It brings out the best in all of us and as a goalkeeper that's what you want. You want competition and you want someone breathing down your neck knowing that if you are not at your best and you are not playing at 100 per cent in training then you know you are not going to play. Looking back at last season with Teagan coming in, it kept me on my toes. Teagan has been fantastic and really good competition as well as Faye. She did her ACL and that's kept her out for quite a while but she is going to be back and will be breathing down our necks to play. But the competition is good and, as I said, last season it kept me on my toes and at 100 per cent or as close to it as I could be, but that's exactly what you want.
On an exciting time for the club, with home games to be played at St Helens Stadium in 2024-25…
It is [exciting] and coming into Melwood last year was amazing. The facilities here are fantastic and the club have done us really well by getting us this place back to where it belongs, to be back in the Liverpool family. You come in every day with a smile on your face. We have now moved to a new ground in St Helens and it's almost the start of a new era. We've probably been at Melwood for a year now and now we are starting at a new ground and it's like a clean slate for us. We are really looking forward to starting games at St Helens and bringing the fans in there.
We went there the other week to a rugby game and we spoke to the fans and asked them to come along and try something new. So, hopefully we can get as many fans as we can. That's what it's all about: bringing new people through the doors, getting bums on seats. I said it's a rugby town St Helens, but now it could be a football town as well and hopefully people come through the doors and they like what they see, they bring their friends and family and hopefully we can attract a new audience.
On their first game at St Helens being a friendly against Everton…
It's never a friendly against Everton, is it?! But, look, it's at our new stadium and we want people to come through the door and witness what we can offer this season. It's going to be exciting and what a game to get us started at St Helens. Pre-season or not, it doesn't matter and hopefully we put in a good performance and that kickstarts our season.
On the squad being a close-knit group…
We've got such a special group here over the years, not just the success last season and the year before when we won the Championship. Matt doesn't bring in [just] really good players, he brings in really good people. I think that's a big, big plus and off the pitch we are really close, we spend a lot of time together and that's a massive plus.
You could see on the pitch last season how close we are. We worked hard for each other, we worked for the staff and the massive plus is they are very good people, and you want to work hard for good people. You want to bring the best out of them and the best out of yourself and we do that for each other. But we are a very close-knit group and I think that goes a long way.
On the quality of the squad providing optimism for the future…
I think if you look back at last season and what we achieved with a relatively small squad, hopefully we'll go from strength to strength and it's about, with the new girls coming in, learning how they play. It's building relationships with each other and I think if you look back at last season again, you work hard for each other and as long as you are giving 100 per cent, whether you are starting, whether you are on the bench, it's so important as a team that we bring out the best in each other. This group is special and I feel like looking back at last season, can we build on it? Absolutely we can and that's what we are going to try to do this season and hopefully we go from strength to strength.
On how tough it is to challenge for the top three in the WSL…
Consistency is a big part of it. If you look at last season, towards the end of it we put a really good run together of results, positive results, and that's not just wins, it's draws as well and not getting beat. There was a few games last season we've looked back on where we maybe could have got the three points or we could have held on a bit longer, or we hadn't played as well but we'd got the result.
I think [it's] those minor little details, like can we be a bit more consistent in our defending, can we be more consistent in keeping the ball? Consistency is key. Matt always goes on about it and actually when you look back at last season when we were consistently doing things well we got results, and I think that's really important this season.
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