The winger has a fine return of five goals in 10 league matches this term and credits overseas stars with helping push her and the team up the table
Leah Galton has said that the arrival of USWNT stars Christen Press and Tobin Heath has brought a new mentality to Manchester United, with Casey Stoney’s high-fliers set to take on second-placed Chelsea in a top-of-the-table clash on Sunday.
United have been in the Women’s Super League since the 2019-20 season, having only been formed in 2018 and gaining promotion from the Championship in their second season as a club.
And while the Red Devils managed to quickly find their feet in the women’s top flight, they have more recently established themselves as title contenders, sitting at the summit of the table ahead of a Chelsea side that have a game in hand.
The confidence already within the squad only increased when Press and Heath rocked up, however, and Galton feels that – despite often being moved more centrally to accommodate the Americans – their presence has been pivotal in United’s race to the top.
“Christen Press and Tobin Heath have changed minds and our mindset,” Galton said in an interview with The Guardian.
“They’ve brought a different, much more positive, mentality. They’ve given us belief and the confidence to keep pushing forward, to create and to take more chances. They’ve given me the confidence to shoot from outside the area.”
Galton had almost fallen out of love with football after an ill-fated spell at Bayern Munich, but current boss Stoney has revitalised the forward, who claims her first trip to the manager’s office saw her enter “as one person and leaving another”.
“I’ve never had a manager that believes in me as much as Casey,” Galton said, “She’s made me so much more confident on the pitch. And because she’s so recently been a player she knows how you feel.”
“Sometimes in training she’ll join in and help us to figure out situations, she’s even marked me occasionally! If you need extra help, she’ll stay on and keep working with you after training.”
Stoney may be a fine manager of the mental side of things, but it is the physical aspect of a packed fixture schedule that the boss has to navigate if United are to become champions. Galton, however, believes she is part of a squad with the necessary depth to handle the busy calendar.
“Our squad’s got the necessary depth to keep challenging,” she said. “Even if we end up having to play three times a week, we can cope; we’ve got an incredibly strong togetherness.”
Looking ahead to Sunday’s match-up, the 26-year-old added: “I’ve played with a few of the Chelsea girls in the past, but we’re obviously enemies for the day on Sunday.”
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