EMMA HANSBERRY: 'There isn't much of a chance to rest... ' | Sligo Rovers bringing an edge to the 2026 season | Setting examples | Blending youth and experience

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Well, to allow you to be joined to head of the new Women's Primitive

season by the Sluggerovers captain Emma Hansbury, just maybe talk to me first about your

general excitement and dissipation for the new season.

Yeah, we're really excited now to be fair.

We've three weeks done of pre-season, so it seems like we're well settled in at this stage.

It's been some higher days, of course, pre-season.

Everyone knows how tough it can be, but three weeks done and six weeks to go before the season

starts, so everyone is really excited and enthusiastic at the moment.

I didn't see the club posting just the kind of confirmation that you'd

resigned for the season yesterday, so was there any kind of doubt over that word

you being leaked on your else or had you got interest from on your else?

No, just a delay.

You know, the way life goes the last few weeks, we've just been really busy,

you know, we're training, working, maybe traveling a little bit as well,

so a lot of the other girls have gone in for their season photo so far.

I didn't just yet, so they had to announce it before the league launch today.

You were telling me you'll be turning 32 in the middle of the season.

Do you feel it's harder for women's footballers to, I suppose, maybe have a longer career in the

game than it is for men's players?

Yeah, look, I think it's quite evident that my own self recovery definitely takes a little bit

longer the older that you're getting, and I think with all the young kids who are coming up

through the league as well, you know, you're playing against 17, 18, 19, 20 year olds here

are naturally fit, so I think the older you get, you just have to adjust your game

to suit yourself really, so thank God I'm playing with, you know, younger people who have

maybe more, more miles in the legs I suppose than I do, so you just have to adjust to who you're

playing. I think probably naturally men tend to play a little bit longer than women's do

for many different reasons, but, you know, you see some big legends on your entire last season

from the league who are well on into their 30s, so it can be done, it just takes maybe a little bit

more commitment on our behalf.

It required the physical side of the game for yourself, then do you find you do a huge

amount of work in pre-season, maybe outside of what the club is doing?

Yeah, I think it's important, again, the older you get, you have to focus on, unfortunately,

I've had quite a lot of injuries the last four seasons, last season has been completely

injury-free for me, which was great, I hadn't had that the first three seasons, I was sidelined a

lot, so it's just about doing a lot of pre-hab before the season starts, gym work, you know,

just trying to make yourself as robust as possible and hope to avoid any of the unlucky injuries throughout the year.

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As it's something you feel as a captain, you need to do to suppose to show that set that good

example for younger players in the squad. Yeah, I think so, you know, although it's an amateur league

as such, you know, them days are over, you know, you're training for nights at a week on the pitch.

You have three other days where you have to be in the gym, doing your own bits, or

out doing runs and things like that. So there's really not much of a chance to rest at all.

And I think if you do, that's when you get fined out. It's become far more professional

the league in the last few years. More demands are expected of you. Standards have definitely

raised and maybe it's captain. Yeah, you definitely have to leap, by example, and set standards and

make sure people are doing their work outside the training as well as on the pitch.

And as captain of Sliger Overs, there's not many people get to represent their local club as a

player. Yeah. And then again, there's even fewer get to do it as a captain. Like, what kind of

sense of pride does that bring to you when you take to the field as the Sliger Overs captain

your local club? Yeah, it's huge for me. I love not more than captain and Sliger Overs. Sliger

Guerala, as he said, and I was asked in another interview what was one of my favorite memories,

I suppose, over the last few seasons. But for me, I think it was that first game when you got

to work out as captain because it was a feeling of they finally have a women's team. Things are

going to get better from here. And that was probably the best feeling being able to captain your

hometown when there was so many talks over the previous years to put a women's team into the

the League of Ireland. So for me, it's great honor and pride and even having friends and family

there. And to be honest, Sliger Overs is a real community club. So, you know, even the fans come

into the games to the same dedicated fans that come to our games and the men's games and the club

back us just as much as the back of the men. So I think all of that adds to the great honor it is

to captain the team. Yeah, because I was going to mention it about the whole community he does

of Sliger Overs. It's a members club. Yeah. Raising funds isn't easy for the club every season.

We see the hard work that's done by volunteers and by fundraisers around this. I suppose

does it give you that bit of extra motivation when you're playing for the club represent the club?

The fact that it's been so hard for them to get a women's team on the pitch.

Yeah, I think so. But they've never let us down. It's completely a community club and

we again, we get to support the men's and women's team and we're never left short of what we want

or what we need. And so I think that's a huge testament to the club and the people that they have.

They're just real Sliger people who want to see the town doing well. It's a real football town.

It's a real football town it always has been. So they've been blessed over the years with the

generosity of the locals and big sponsors within the town who want to help the club progress and

achieve greater things and both the women's and men's team from our behalf. It's clear to see

how much the community has in effect because I guess without them the club wouldn't be running.

But there's a lot of hard work from volunteers of course to bring in money and it's a lot of

pressure and I'm sure a lot of stress at times but on our behalf we don't say that because the

club are good enough to give us everything that we need and we're really time full for that.

I suppose on a footballing note it is hard for Sliger who's supposed to compete consistently

over the season to close the gap on some of the clubs in the top three to have four.

I think cups maybe give you that chance to maybe have a good cup of rum during season.

So with that might we be disappointed with the cups last season and how would you like to change

that this year? Yeah I think you hit the nail and head there. We're definitely a cup team.

We thrive for a cup games. We've told well I suppose the last few years even if I hope we've got

to the semi-final. Last season was definitely disappointing because once you hit August time

and you're a bottom of the league table it's really hard to keep yourself motivated and

enthusiastic throughout each week so for us a big thing this year we'll try and progress as far

as we can in the cup. We have to focus on the cups. That's like suppose where we've got a lot of

joy the last few seasons and it keeps everything going especially the second half of the season so

for us that'll be a big area of something that will work on this year to try and progress in.

Champions at the whole town. First day of the season. Can you spring a shock? Well we hope to.

We're definitely going to go in with that attitude. At loan obviously you know got a respect how

good they are. The quality of them you know the unbelievable season that they had last year. I

enjoy watching them as a team. I think they're unbelievable. But you know we're playing them

possibly at the right time. We have to my home first game of the season for us and first game of the

season for them so you know I'm sure they won't have everything as spot on as they'd like to so

it could be the best chance that we have at getting a surprise result this season so we'll see

how it goes. The show is going to be happening. Hopefully. Yeah. I know that's the look of the

season. Thank you. Thank you. No problem. Thank you. Omaha Stakes semi-annual sale is here.

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