Andrée Jegerletz sees potential in Manchester City after positive start

A few months into his role as head coach of Manchester City Women, Andrée Jegerletz spoke to the media about his squad.  

Alongside team news, he asserted his main philosophy at the helm with City and reminded of the abundance of talent within his competitive squad.

Team news

As the days tick down on their next fixture and the squad have been assessed they hope

to go into the fixture with “as many players as possible”.

However, after suffering injuries early on in their 2025/26 campaign, several key players remain sidelines for City: Lauren Hemp, Kerolin Nicoli, Grace Clinton and Mary Fowler, to name a few.

Speaking on the three major injuries to City’s attack - with Lauren Hemp having the most assists for the club last season and Mary being in close second – the severity and timescale of their injuries are uncertain.

When asked about Fowler, Jegerletz reminded that she is grafting hard to get back from her ACL rupture, but this takes time and patience:

“She's working hard every day. She’s on her way and following the plan, but she has a long way to go after that big injury.”Although four attacking stars are currently away from the training pitch, Rebecca Knaak is another player in doubt for upcoming weeks. Despite featuring in the squad to face London City Lionesses, she faced a small setback and is not ready to return again:

“She is on her way back, but we take it easy.”

Importance of versatility

As Manchester City are asserting their dominance in the Barclays Women’s Super league this season, experienced players, including Aoba Fujino, are becoming key presences in the team.

When asked about the versatility in his Manchester City side, Jegerletz reminded that having options within a team is vital to his philosophy of building a squad:

“Football today is about being versatile, I think the best players in international level in women and men are able to play in different roles.”

Tactically, the head coach plans to use rotation and give all his players the chance to prove themselves; this elevates the performance and level of unpredictability to their opponents across competitions. 

Since the move to Manchester, the head coach has motivated his players and built good relationships within the team. His style of coaching is focused on maximising opportunities; this reflects the team’s hard work in training to prove themselves worthy of their place:

“Each session counts.”

Jegerletz has built a squad of trust and understanding, where each individual trusts in the leadership and knowledge; this allows him to rotate players while maintaining a competitive yet friendly environment on the training pitch.

Jegerletz’s first few months in charge

Confidence and tactics are two elements central to Jegerletz’s philosophy as head coach.

At the weekend, Manchester City faced Gareth Taylor’s Liverpool – the former manager could have posed a threat to his previous team. However, Jegerletz expressed that despite the challenges regarding knowledge of a former club, technology has impacted the game significantly in terms of opposition and counter tactics.

“Every coach will be able to get everything in detail about figures and the clips from our team.”.

Having only just come into the club in a difficult time for the Blues, in terms of their injuries, Jegerletz reminded that sometimes coaches can be too hard on themselves. Although City lost points in their opener at the Joie Stadium against Chelsea, there is huge credit to be paid to the squad after their turnaround to the top half of the table.

“I can have 1 million ideas but if they don't buy into it and work hard and believe in what we are trying to do.”

Competition within the squad

With a wealth of experience in Manchester City’s squad, alongside several young players making their mark in the WSL, there is constant competition to make it into the starting eleven.

In particular, the midfield positions remain competitive and uncertain with numerous talented individuals: Clinton, Yui Hasegawa, and Laura Blinkilde-Brown to name a few. But this challenge is a positive for Jegerletz:

“That's what it’s all about, the coaches and players would love to have a great team and competition in all areas.”

For the Swedish international, it is essential that each player understands their individual tasks and the expectation upon them: whether this be on the training pitch, in the gym, or on matchdays. Allowing the squad to remain motivated is vital to create the desired environment.

Diving into specifics on his plan for individual squad members, the head coach spoke about Laura Wienroither and the role she will play in the team. Having spent the last half of the season at Manchester city on loan, she signed a permanent deal this summer to officially become a Blue.

However, the former Arsenal defender has not seen as much game time as expected since sealing the permanent deal. When asked about Wienroither, Jegerletz expressed the difficulty in choosing his defensive options: he has an abundant of talented defenders, so securing a starting spot will fall to her work rate and performance behind closed doors:

 “Time will tell.”