Lewes Women boss Parker hails amazing league campaign

The Rooks finished fifth in the 2020-21 FA Women’s Championship with 28 points from 20 games.

Notable results include a 1-0 home win over champions Leicester City in April and a 2-2 draw at home to third-placed Liverpool in November.

Lewes also reached round four of the FA Women’s Cup, bowing out after 2-1 home loss to Southampton in April.

Parker said: “I’m really proud, especially after the uncertainty over Covid going into the build up of the season.

“It affected a lot in the preparation and recruitment in a few different aspects.

“For the team to do as well as they did, we’re very proud.”

The Rooks have been busy shaping their team ahead of the 2021-22 campaign.

Lewes have confirmed that 10 of last season’s squad will return, including Supporters’, Coaches’ and Players’ Player of the Season, captain Rhian Cleverly, Volunteer’s Player of the Season Sophie O’Rourke and number one Tatiana Saunders.

But the Rooks have also released eight from last season, including the long-serving Dani Lane, New Zealand international Katie Rood and 2019-20 Supporters’ Player of the Season Filippa Savva.

Parker added: “There were some tough decisions to make regarding the players we couldn’t keep.

“There were areas that we’re looking to improve with maybe a slightly different profile of player.

“In midfield, we need to be a little bit more progressive and have someone to help us play forward and chip in with a few more goals.

“If the club’s aims are to be competing to get promoted, sometimes there’s more changes than you’d want.

“That’s why we’ve had a bigger turnover. But we’re happy with the players we’ve been able to keep.”

Parker also hinted that Lewes were set to announce some new faces in the coming weeks.

He said: “We’re quite excited by a couple of the new players that we’ll be bringing in.

“We haven’t decided on times but we should probably be announcing something in the next week or two.”