Manchester City have already signalled their intent for 2015 with high-profile signings and a new training complex - and manager Nick Cushing is confident there is plenty more to come from his squad.
After a triumphant campaign that saw City win the Continental Cup and finish fifth in their debut season in FA WSL 1, the club moved quickly to build on their success.
England international Lucy Bronze signed from champions Liverpool and was soon joined by fellow Three Lions defender Demi Stokes, and Scotland defender Jennifer Beattie.
There are new surroundings for every member of Cushing’s side as they recently moved into the club’s new £200m training complex, which includes a 7,000-capacity stadium where City will play their home games.
And with a squad now brimming with international talent, Cushing believes his side will have the right mindset to challenge the best teams in the League.
He said: “Lucy Bronze is a huge signing for us and to get her in alongside Steph Houghton, Jill Scott and Toni Duggan is fantastic.
Man City boss Nick Cushing wants his side to kick on in 2015
“Those international players bring a certain mindset and mentality because of the tournaments they have played in around the world.
“We’re always looking to keep improving our style of play and Lucy fits the way we want to play – she’s an attacking full-back and the best right-back in England.
“We constantly review our playing squad and we want the strongest playing squad possible, whether that means bringing others in or improving the current players.
“We are really focused on how we play and what we look like as a footballing side, because we want people to want to come back and watch us.
“There are still areas to improve upon to make sure we can replicate our best more often and we need to create more chances especially, because we didn’t get enough goals last year.”
The state of the art 80-acre training facility has drawn plenty of admiring glances since its opening, not least from the City players themselves.
And Cushing admits both he and his side cannot wait for the new season to start so they can begin to make full use of the complex.
They open up their campaign at Birmingham City on Sunday 29 March.
He added: “Our complex is fantastic and the standard of the facilities speak for themselves.
“As a footballer or a manager, there is no better place in the world to work if you want to improve and reach your potential.
“The new training facilities and the stadium will really give us a ‘no-excuses’ culture to gaining more success.
“All the girls are really excited to start – they were back in on 2 January for pre-season and they are eager to get started because this really is a unique complex.
“We’ll make sure the team gets back into peak condition to start the first game and hit the ground running.”
