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Jocelyn Prêcheur was introduced as London City Lionesses head coach on Thursday [27 June], quick-stepping from the Eurostar to his opening press conference as a member of the Pride.
The Frenchman arrives in London with an impressive resume, having lifted last season’s Coupe de France with Paris Saint-Germain and masterminded a historic quadruple as a rookie touchline boss in China four years earlier.
Prêcheur also carries Michele Kang’s definitive stamp of approval, with Kang describing the 42-year-old as “one of the best coaches in women’s football.”
The American also expressed her gratitude at Prêcheur’s decision to decision to swap the UEFA Champions League for the Barclays Women’s Championship.
“His leadership capabilities are proven,” Kang told reporters in London, “I’m incredibly grateful to him for accepting this project and agreeing to work with us to lead the team to where we want it to be.”
Introductory Statement:
Bonjour! I’m very happy to be here in front of you today and very happy to join London City Lionesses. Since I met Michele last season, I have admired her vision and dedication to the women’s game.
Firstly, this is a very big and ambitious project – and I decided quickly that I wanted to join because I wanted to support her in this journey. I’ve waited for a very long time in women’s football for this kind of opportunity, so there was no other choice than joining this project and supporting Michele.
We start very soon, next week, and right now it is time for me to discover new players and start to prepare the team for next season.
How difficult do you think it will be to win promotion and do you think you can do it in the first year in charge?
Yes, this is our ambition – we will do our best to get promoted after one season. We are lucky to have a lot of motivation, but we also have to show humility and work because we have to build a new team.
Michele has given us everything we need to be efficient from the beginning. After that, it depends on how we build cohesion within this group of players and how I share my ideas to create our identity on the field.
What other metrics are you going to use, apart from gaining promotion, to judge the 2024-25 season?
I think we need a lot of things, but I believe in the team’s style of play that I want to bring in.
I want to win, so we have to be efficient, but at the same time, we need to play in an attractive way. This is something I want to bring for many reasons that we have spoken about; we need to convince fans to come and watch us next season.
I cannot say that we are starting from scratch because the Club already has a history, but it’s definitely a new start with new players. We have to merge everything – the values and culture of the Club.
It will be a challenge at the beginning and we will have to bridge step-by-step. We will start on the pitch because many players have arrived from abroad and we have many different cultures and languages [on our team]. As I have said many times, this is the same sport and football is for everyone. Afterwards, we have to create our identity.
I have my vision and my convictions about how we should play to win. But we have to do it together. If we want to create something very efficient, then at the beginning it will be the biggest challenge, and after that, we also need many things, but we will start with that first.
Additional Reporting – Ruby Joanne, Marketing & Communications Officer