Crystal Palace manager Leif Smerud hopes the club will learn from their relegation from the Women’s Super League and use the experience to help them return to the top flight.
A 7-1 defeat to West Ham on Sunday confirmed Palace’s relegation back to the Championship, with Smerud’s side rock bottom of the table with just nine points after 20 games.
Palace’s first season in the WSL has been sobering, but Smerud has urged the club to use that to their advantage next season.
“The benefit of facing adversity is that if you use it in the right way you can grow from it,” the 48-year-old said before Palace’s penultimate WSL game against Leicester City on Sunday.
“It will be really important for us as a club to look at what was done, what wasn’t done and what can be done better going forward.
“It’s a huge learning opportunity for coaches, players and leaders at the club. We should really take care of that and come back stronger.
“If we look at what it takes to be in the league, we now have first-hand experience of it. We need to use that.”
As a trained psychologist, Smerud felt the pressure of relegation has affected his players in recent games.
“We played [against West Ham] like there was a lot at stake, you could see the pressure getting to us,” he said.
“After that there was a big release, but a lot of uncertainty shows up. What’s going to happen to me [players], what’s going to happen to the club. What’s next.
“We are determined to show a different side of us after that performance which we didn’t like at all.”
Smerud replaced Laura Kaminski as manager in March, but his future at Palace is uncertain.
When asked about his position he said: “That’s not important now at all.
“A lot of things are uncertain for players and the club in many aspects.
“For me we have to wait, the focus is on Leicester. We’ll have to come back to these topics later.”
Smerud said his players’ reaction in training this week has been good, though he has a few injury concerns which will be assessed before Sunday.
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