Not many women’s sides in South Yorkshire can claim to be household names, but after their meteoric rise, SJR Worksop Women have firmly established themselves in the small town of Worksop. 

The side has come a long way since splitting from Worksop Town in 2020. SYWF spoke to the club’s chairman, Andrew Guest, and captain Charlotte Finch to discuss the challenges, triumphs, and the club’s growing influence in women’s football.

So Andrew, let’s kick off with the split from Worksop Town, how did it come about?

A: Our men’s side, which started in non-league nearly 40 years ago, went semi-professional in 2019. Around that time, someone from Worksop Town Ladies approached us about the possibility of joining under our name.

I was initially confused, but they explained they had secured sponsorships, only for the funds to be redirected to the men’s team. Things escalated when Worksop Town installed a 3G pitch and began charging the women’s team £350 per game.

That was the final straw. They were being asked to pay an extortionate amount to play for a club they were technically a part of. So, they approached me again, and I agreed to bring them in, just to ensure they had a stable home.

For the first couple of years, they operated independently, with their own bank account and management, but by 2022, I could see it wasn’t working, and I had to step in.

How so?

A: I’m not going to mention the manager’s name because he’s a nice guy, but something I’ve found a lot in women’s football is that dressing rooms can end up running the team.

They had a talented side but kept finishing mid-table, often playing with just 10 players and, at times, without a goalkeeper.

There was a fair bit of miscommunication as well, messages weren’t getting across and to top it all, they were probably costing us money rather than bringing any in. 

It was time for a change, so I put Lee Scott in charge. He’s one of the best coaches in our area and has been managing men’s teams for 15 years.

How has it been since the change and what have been the highlights?

A: We expected a rebuilding phase and in our first year under Scott (22/23), we nearly got relegated but the feel-good factor from staying up built momentum.

We had a girl come in at 16 called Emily Myatt, who we knew was a good player but we probably didn’t realise just how good she was. She hit the ground running, scored a lot of goals and the team just sky-rocketed up the league.

We had a bit of a wobble around Christmas and I thought our title chances were over, but we then went and won five of the next six.

It all meant we went into the last day with the simple equation of, win and we win the league. 

We took the lead after two minutes, and even though Retford equalised, we came storming back to go 4-1 up. We really should have cruised off into the distance at that point but we let them back into the game just before half-time. 

In the second half, we were a bag of nerves and they got another with fifteen to go to make it 4-3. It looked like we’d done enough to hang on but they won a penalty out of nowhere in the last minute.

As you can imagine we were all expecting the worst, but our keeper Olivia Walker produced a miracle to keep it out. We saw out the closing moments and the league was ours!

That was the highlight and I’ll never forget it but I also have to mention our FA Cup run. We got to the final qualifying round which we’ve never been anywhere near before and obviously off the back of that we gained a lot of publicity and a good bit of money.

Another highlight on a personal level though has been discovering the passion I have for the women’s game and passing that on. My old man, who’s as old school as they come, gets himself down and knows all girls so it’s become a real family club. They’ve definitely converted a lot of people.

Have we got it 100%? No, there’s still work to be done, but we sit down each season and discuss how we can make it better each year.

Why do you think the club has experienced so much success in such a short period?

A: When we look around at how other clubs are running, it seems to be that those with the bigger names actually neglect their women’s side.

We operate in reverse as our women are probably getting more than the men, but it’s deservedly so because they’re the highest-ranking team and bring in more money to the club. We run on the philosophy that the more you bring in, the more you get back and when it comes to sponsorship and what they do for the club, it outweighs anything anyone else does. 

We also found there’s a lot of pretty tiki-taka football in the women’s game, but it’s not very effective. 

We do get accused of being direct sometimes, but that’s generally how the men’s game is played at lower levels, and it’s seen us get results.

And with that success, how have the players found it?

A: I’ll be honest they’ve become like little celebrities around our town because playing at this level has never been done before. With social media, they’re becoming household names, and at first, I think it was a bit uncomfortable for them, but they’ve all gotten used to it now.

Well, let’s find out, Charlotte how have you found the rise to stardom in Worksop?

C: So the followers have gone up on my Instagram and socials! But I live about an hour and a half from Worksop so for me I get a bit of an escape from it. However, there are girls in our squad who do live in Worksop and make comments about it. You’re wearing the kit and people look and go ooh I know that.

Whenever I’m in my kit in Worksop, people always look at me and think, “I recognise them, I’m sure.” 

I remember when our U7s were mascots for a game. They told us they had questions for us, and I expected simple ones like, “What’s your favourite position?” Instead, the first question was, “Who is your football role model?” I thought ‘Woah that’s deep’, but that’s when I realised how much of an impact we’re having.

We didn’t have those role models growing up. Now, young girls in Worksop have a team to look up to.

Charlotte, how different is the club from your first spell? 

C: So yeah, I joined the club initially in 2020 under the previous manager and left a couple of years later due to work. I’ll be honest in that first spell, I fell out of love with the game.

We were getting battered week in, week out and I started questioning why I was doing it all.

When I moved I rediscovered my love for the game, and during that time I saw SJR changed their manager and were making noise, winning the league etc. I got a call from Lee and I could instantly tell the club was now the right place for me.

In terms of differences, the biggest is the standard of coaching. No offense to the guy who was doing it before but I think it was just sort of part-time volunteering, just trying to help out whereas Lee is a lot more of a serious coach. 

He’s done his UEFA license and football is his life.

I know Lee values the women’s game a lot and I appreciate that because I’ve met coaches over my time who say they’re advocates for women’s football, but all they’re about is themselves and getting their names out there rather than the actual women’s game and the women’s team. 

Finally, we asked Andrew and Charlotte what their goals for the club and individually are going forward.

A: First of all, improve the ground. We still haven’t got floodlights, so we want them to help us promote both the women’s and men’s sides.

There are also plans to bring in, if we can get our own ground, an educational post-16 side of things and we’re going to do that for girls and boys, but we’re working on that at the moment.

Obviously, some extra financial backing would be nice! So if someone comes in with a load of money and I think they’re the right fit, obviously that’ll help.

On the field for the women, we’re aiming for the National League within the next five years.

C: I think for the rest of my career, I can safely say that Worksop’s my future. 

I’m just so grateful that I can go out every Sunday and play the game I love, with players that I love in a team that I love. To me, there’s nothing better. After football though, I could definitely see myself in a role off the pitch but I’m only 27, so I don’t want to think about that yet!