Mo Marley said it was an easy decision to name a largely unchanged squad for England’s match against France, following last month’s resounding win over Russia.
The Lionesses eased to a 6-0 victory in their opening 2019 World Cup qualifier, at Prenton Park.
And there were only two players missing from that squad – the injured Ellen White and Laura Bassett, who is in Australia with her new club Canberra United – when training got under way at St. George’s Park on Monday.
Marley said: “You’re only as good as your last game. I was at the Russia game and I thought the girls played exceptionally well.
“I was very proud of the performance. When a team puts on a display like that I think it’s only right and fair to give them another opportunity.
“So I’ll be looking at the girls in the squad this week and looking forward to what they can show me, but I know we’ve got a lot of other good players out there.
“With my role with the U19s I know there are some very good players coming through the system.
“We’ve got plenty of scouting reports on a number of players and it’s an open-door policy.”
Marley will take charge of England for their next three matches; the friendly in Valenciennes on Friday and two World Cup qualifiers, against Bosnia and Kazakhstan, next month.
The 50-year-old former Everton boss is relishing pitting her wits against the mighty Les Bleues, who have lost only once to England in 43 years.
She explained: “I’m excited to get out to France, show what we can do, and hopefully put on a really good performance.
“We know we made history by beating them last time out, and in a competitive game at that, but we want to build on that now and keep the momentum going.
“We are currently third in the world but we want to be number one. There is a lot of expectation on us but the girls are ready for that.”
Marley continued: “The environment over the last couple of days has been excellent.
“The energy in the room is good and the players are fully focused on getting out on the pitch on Friday and playing football.”
Marley has been involved with the England youth set-up since 2001 and has taken charge of 75 matches across U19s, U20s and Under-23s level.
She has helped develop virtually the entire current senior squad and led England to the U19 European Championship in 2009, as well as three other U19 finals in a seven-year period.
She added: “I felt it was the right time and that I was the right person to take on this senior role on a short-term basis.
“I’m just focusing on the next three games, working with the players and trying to get a good result against France, first and foremost.”
