Montrose Women boss Craig Feroz is targeting a second league title in succession after his side clinched the SWF Championship North.
The Gable Endies sealed the championship with two games to spare after a 4-1 win over second placed East Fife at Links Park on Sunday.
The side, who were only formed in 2017, will now compete in SWPL 2, the second tier of women’s football in Scotland.
Hiya @SWPL 👋 pic.twitter.com/ohuG93wWDx
— Montrose Football Club Women (@MontroseFCW) April 10, 2022
Feroz and his team had a massive job on their hands at the beginning of the campaign after his squad was decimated due to Covid.
The former Arbroath and Brechin striker had to rebuild the group of players originally assembled before the pandemic.
Looking for gems
“I took over in 2020 but that got put off due to Covid, so this was my first season as manager,” Feroz told Courier Sport.
“We built a squad for the first season, then when Covid first hit we lost about nine players.
“I thought I had a squad that could win the league then. We had to rebuild again, looking about for gems and we did. Apart from a couple, these players had never played together.
League Champions💙@MontroseFCW pic.twitter.com/oYit3XCVFO
— Georgia Carter (@georgiacarter42) April 11, 2022
“When I took the job, I thought we could win the league. But that’s just the way I think because I played football for so long.
“You don’t enter anything unless you want to win it.
“They told me five years and I delivered it in one season, so that’s not bad.”
With his first league win secured, Feroz is now looking to make it back to back titles in the SWPL 2 with Montrose Women.
He is aware of the challenge ahead but believes, with the right backing, Montrose can mix it with the best clubs in the country.
“I don’t know my own future yet,” Feroz explained, “I’ve still to discuss this with the board.
“If I am going to be there, I want to push for the title again. For that, we need to invest.
E M P O W E R M E N T pic.twitter.com/pZqxDIsM65
— FC Barcelona Femení (@FCBfemeni) March 30, 2022
“You can see the women’s game is growing now.
“The potential is massive and if you look over the water to Barcelona, they are selling out a full stadium for Champions League games.”
Invincibles?
But, with two games left to play, Montrose have the chance to cap off an already remarkable season.
The side are so far unbeaten in the league and have scored almost double the amount of goals as their nearest challengers, while only conceding 10 times giving them an incredible goal difference of +124.
We caught up with Manager Craig Feroz in front of a sell out hospitality crowd after clinching the Championship North title🏆 pic.twitter.com/O56QmI2bvg
— Montrose Football Club Women (@MontroseFCW) April 11, 2022
While Feroz acknowledged his desire for next campaign, he says his team are desperate to finish this one as the Invincibles.
“You don’t often get the chance to go undefeated all season,” he said.
“It would be a fitting end because they deserve it, they’ve been head and shoulders above everyone else in the league.
“I certainly won’t stop pushing them – but I know there were a few sore heads on Sunday morning.”
