The FA’s bid to help Phil Neville turn the Lionesses into world beaters is set to receive a major boost with the announcement that US Women’s National Team’s high performance coach Dawn Scott has been recruited to his staff.
Scott spent nine years as head of sports science and exercise science for England women from 2001, beginning when their was no sports science programme.
She joined US Soccer in 2010, working first under Swedish manager Pia Sundhage then Jill Ellis. Described to NBC by World Cup winner Christie Pearce as “the secret to everything,” Scott is widely regarded as having been a key part of the USWNT’s Olympic gold in 2012 and back to back World Cup’s in 2015 and this summer. The hugely popular backroom staff member likes to build an almost intimate picture of each player she works with, from diet to sleep pattern to family.
In recent years she also oversaw sport science and fitness for the National Women’s Soccer League, giving her advance access to the player pool below the national team.
Scott’s departure has shocked fans and pundits in the US, with new USWNT manager Vlatko Andonovski having announced he would be retaining the high performance coach, who also worked for the former US and Australia coach Tom Sermanni, shortly after his unveiling as Ellis’s replacement.
The appointment would be a major coup for Neville who has reportedly been a big admirer of South Shields-born Scott. The FA are sticking by Neville after a poor run which began with their World Cup semi-final exit to the US, and ended with a somewhat unconvincing 3-2 defeat of the Czech Republic to close the year.
The addition of Scott as physical performance coach would be a big boost as the team readies itself for the 2020 Olympics and a 2021 home Euros. Scott is known for a focus on the necessity of making “marginal gains”, a concept Neville has put much store in since his appointment in 2018.
