Arsenal Ladies coach Shelley Kerr celebrated her first game in charge of the Gunners with a win after they beat Italian side ASD Torres 3-1 to edge one step closer to place in the Champions League semi final.
Former England Under-19 boss Kerr was appointed coach after former manager Laura Harvey moved to American side Seattle Reign.
Kerr joked about how her preparation in the run up to the game had been rather rushed: “I think this is about the fifth training session so three with the full squad and two without.
“But they are well educated, professional players who have great knowledge in football so because of that preparation has been made easier.”
Speaking about her first day in charge, she said: “I absolutely loved it today. Football at this level, these are the games you want to be involved in.
“I think it had a bit of everything. I didn’t feel any pressure before the game I don’t seem to feel that as a coach I think you can only do so much,” said Kerr.
Although the win was richly deserved there was a slight sense of disappointment over the number of chances they managed to waste.
“The game plan was executed, but the down side was that at this level you need to be more consistent.
“I wasn’t disappointed at all, I thought the positioning was excellent but we didn’t always get the end product. We created a lot of chances especially in the first 20 minutes.”
Kerr reiterated the team’s disappointment after Torres scored a goal in the middle of the second half.
“It wasn’t just me who was disappointed to concede. I think the girls were disappointed because it could easily have been avoided.
“But it’s the Champions League quarter finals and you are always going to get strong teams at this stage in the competition. I thought Torres were extremely well organised and very disciplined today and they were very hard to break down.”
Having hit the ground running in her first game, former Scottish international Kerr is confident she can help continue Arsenal’s tradition of success.
“The values and philosophy are important for everyone and for anyone who joins the club they have to have those values and I’m no different from the players. I have my own philosophy and values and I can tell you for sure they fit in with Arsenal’s,” she said.
