Lauren Hemp opens up on Manchester City trophy hunger after Chelsea heartache
Lauren Hemp has opened up on her ambitions for the new season as Manchester City eye silverware
Lauren Hemp believes missing out on the Women's Super League (WSL) title last season will only serve to make Manchester City "hungrier" to win silverware this term.
The Blues finished the 2023/24 campaign in second place, having been pipped to the title on goal difference by Chelsea on the final day. Hemp was one of the standout performers for Gareth Taylor's side and was this week named in the the Professional Footballers' Association (PFA) team of the year.
And, with City now ramping up their preparations for the new campaign with a pre-season tour of Australia, Hemp has revealed how she and her teammates are planning to channel last season's frustration to propel them to success. Speaking to club media, the England forward said: “I signed for Man City because I want to win trophies and we didn’t do that last season. That has just made us even hungrier to want to win more.
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“We’ve got the chance to win four trophies this season but we’ve got to put in the groundwork to be in the best possible position to win trophies. That all starts with getting a good week of prep in.”
City have been busy in the transfer market this summer, with Arsenal legend Vivianne Miedema and West Ham defender Risa Shimizu among their new signings. Reflecting on how the Blues' new arrivals are settling in, Hemp said: “It takes a while to build connections on the pitch and we’ve obviously done that with a few of the new girls.
“The development girls that have come up and trained with us have done really well in the last few weeks. Us being all together as a squad and spending time as a group will only strengthen that even more. It’s really important.
“I know we’re going to keep doing that over the next few weeks before the season starts. Meeting up with everyone after time apart was really nice, everyone is getting on well and that’s what we’re looking for out of the trip.”
City will contest two matches in Perth over the coming fortnight, with Taylor's side set to face off with Leicester City and either Paris Saint-Germain or West Ham United. Looking ahead to their games in Australia, Hemp said: “You never go into a game not looking to win.
“The win is our priority but it’s all about the performance, working together as a squad, building the connections having not seen each other in a while. A lot of us haven’t played a game in forever, so every chance we get to have minutes in the legs will help us to be ready for the start of the season. Wins here would mean we’re starting as we mean to go on.”
You can pick up the August edition of our monthly publication Women's Football News here.