Sonia Bompastor has praised Katie McCabe’s ‘unbelievable’ leadership on and off the pitch, stating that the Ireland captain ‘leads by example.’

Bompastor was speaking to the media at Cobham ahead of Chelsea‘s trip to the Valley to face Charlton on Sunday and The Halfway Line was present to hear from the Chelsea head coach.

Working with Katie McCabe is ‘easy’ praises Bompastor

Chelsea’s defence is currently the best in the country. The Blues have conceded just four in the league so far this term, the team who have conceded the next least have conceded double that of Sonia Bompastor’s side. while Chelsea are yet to concede in the UEFA Women’s Champions League.

One crucial cog in that defensive machine has Katie McCabe who signed on a free transfer in the summer, The Halfway Line asked Bompastor about how McCabe was settling in and how she has found working with her,

“Yeah, I think she’s settling in really well” Bompastor smiled. “We are really happy to have Katie with us. Her leadership on and off the pitch is unbelievable. I think working with Katie is really easy. She always wants to work hard.

“She always leads by example, and you can really have honest and direct conversations with her about herself, the performance she puts on the pitch, the team, the environment, and she always think first about the team and how she can help the team to be the best.

“So yeah, it’s really nice to have her. And yeah, for me, I had some conversations before with people who worked with her, and they all said the same, and now I am in the position where I can say the same. She’s [a] really nice person to work with, and [a] really nice player to work with.”

When The Halfway Line raised the similarity between the two, that they were/are both national team captains and full backs, Bompastor grinned,

“What else?! [The comparison] It’s dangerous for Katie more than for me!”

Bompastor thought for a moment while laugher in the room subsided,

“Sometimes, we have some conversations around the position as well I played as a left fullback” Bompastor thoughtfully explained. “I was a lefty [left footed] as she is.

“This morning in training we had a conversation around defensive aspects, and it’s difficult because Katie is now a really experienced player, and for me, I’m sharing from my experience some sometimes advice, and I’m always making sure like she understands: Maybe at her age, I’m not going to change her a lot but if she can take that advice, it can help.

“We had a conversation this morning about some defensive aspect, and yeah, we both laugh about it because I was like: okay, how much are you going to listen to me? I’ll see in the next training sessions and games” Bompastor laughed.

Lexi Potter injury is ‘nothing major’ says Sonia Bompastor

Since Wednesday night Chelsea and England fans have held their breath. That was after perhaps the best young player in the Barclays Women’s Super League so far this term, Lexi Potter, had to be withdrawn against AS Roma due to injury. Bompastor was able to allay some of those fears when asked about the Chelsea starlet,

“Yeah Lexi has done an MRI yesterday evening, and yeah, [it’s] nothing major from her knee, so it’s good news” Bompastor explained. “She probably won’t be available for this weekend. We just need things to settle down a little bit, but yeah, nothing major.

“So we’ll see how she improves next week, and if she can be available for the Everton game. On Mayra [Ramírez] I don’t have any more updates.”

Chelsea need to approach ‘every game with respect for the opponent’ Sonia Bompastor says

When Chelsea visit Charlton it will see top vs bottom of the league face off, as the team that has only dropped two points faces the side rooted to the bottom of the table with none. Chelsea have averaged three goals per match against newly promoted sides in the WSL era, which will make for concerning reading for Charlton. Sonia Bompastor was asked if she was wary of any complacency creeping into her side ahead of the encounter,

“No” the Chelsea head coach affirmed. “I think we come into every game really well prepared. I think we know in this league every game is tough and you can lose points against anyone.

“So for us we are coming into this game and we want to put a performance to get the three points. Again, if we want to compete and stay at the top for the longest possible, I think we need to approach every game with a lot of respect for every opponent. And again, we know in this league everyone can beat everyone, so we are really much aware of that.”