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Everton Women exclusive: New performance manager Franck Plaine wants Champions League
We’re delighted to welcome Franck Plane, who has exclusively spoken to George Hartley after being named the new performance manager of Everton Women.
Everton Women performance manager Franck Plaine has his sights set on winning silverware and reaching the Champions League during his time on Merseyside.
Plaine joined the club in November having previously worked with the Paris Saint-Germain and esteemed French academy Clairefontaine, where he worked with Kylian Mbappe. He teamed up fellow Frenchmen Jean-Luc Vasseur and former West Ham forward Frederic Piquionne.
Speaking exclusively in a phone interview with Goodison News, Franck Plaine said: “I just want to have fun and win trophies. But we have to be patient and consistent.
“The project is amazing. The club is willing to develop and build a strong team. It is going to move higher and higher with more and more internationals added into the squad.
“We can now have a break over Christmas and then put some work in.”
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Plaine admitted the pull of working in England was simply too good to resist.
The ex-PSG coach added: “It’s the place to be. Whether it’s men or women, these are the best leagues.
“It’s a country of football and you can feel it in Liverpool. It was not a plan for me but now it has come.”
In another interview with ESPN’s Leonard Solms, Plaine outlined his dream of helping Everton Women into to the Champions League.
He said: “We want to be part of the Champions League, so we have to reach the top three. [To finish in the] top three in England is not so easy, because you have big clubs. Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City and [Manchester] United – big clubs, but this is something that we want.”
Next steps
Everton currently sit in eighth in the Women’s Super League. The club are level on ten points with Manchester City, Reading and Aston Villa.
The Toffees won their last game away at Leicester on 21 November. Simone Magill scored a late goal to take all three points at the Pirelli Stadium.
With the teams away on international duty, Plaine hasn’t had too much to do in the last week or so.
Jean-Luc Vasseur’s side will face West Ham United on 12 December having beaten Durham in the League Cup on Sunday. Olli Harder’s Hammers will also be keen on maintaining a winning streak, having beat Spurs in their last league game.
Plaine is certainly used to working with Champions League level stars. As well as Mbappe, he has coached Kingsley Coman and Adrien Rabiot.
His ambitions for European football at Everton may not be realistic right now, but with the right transfers, there is no reason the Toffees can’t close the gap.
In other Everton Women news, our expert delivered his verdict on a crushing injury blow to this Blues star last month.
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