Buet reflected on how pre-season has been going so far and called on her team to keep raising their levels ahead of next month’s Barclays FA Women’s Super League curtain raiser against Bristol City at Ashton Gate.
She said, “[Pre-season] has been really positive. We’ve signed four players and they are all fitting in very well. It’s been a tough pre-season but it has to be, because the teams we will come up against will be stronger than last season.
“We went to Portugal last year and we were very fortunate to do that. You could see from that trip how much it helped the team gel. Our four new signings have come into the squad along with a few of our younger players, and I think it is good for the team dynamic to spend more time together in a different, more testing environment.
“We’ll also get to do a lot of team building exercises and especially here, where it’s warm and the sun is out – it’s all quite exciting for everyone. But we know what we are here for – even though we are in a lovely place in Spain, for us it is a business trip.”
The former England international elaborated on her role in helping the new signings integrate into the team, an praised the efforts of the squad in making them feel welcome.
“It is part of my responsibility to help them fit in as much as I can and make them feel welcome. But to be honest I don’t need to do too much, because the girls are so welcoming and that this the beauty of our team.
“I can't say exactly which team in the league has the closest squad, but we all treat each other the same here. It’s also important that we do that because some of these players have moved away from home and never lived abroad before, so we need to make it as easy as possible for them.
“But that’s what being part of Albion is all about, making people feel welcome and part of the squad.”
The midfielder then admitted that her excitement is building ahead of the new campaign on Saturday 7th September and says the confidence gained from last season’s exploits will help the team moving forward.
“You get to a point where every season is more and more exciting. I think this season will be tougher because of Man United and Spurs coming into the league, especially with how they have strengthened their squads.
“We won’t be fooled about us having a strong end to the season. We will take confidence from it, but ultimately it is a new season for us and we can’t be happy with finishing where we did last season. We need to push on.
“But that confidence is the biggest positive we can take from last season. Our players can now be confident that they do deserve to be in this league. Going into the first match of last season, a lot of the players weren’t sure if they were good enough to be playing at this level, but that changed in the back end of last season where we showed a lot more belief.”
Season tickets for the 2019/20 FAWSL season are on sale now, priced at £30 for adults and £10 for over-65s and under-18s.
To get yours, visit tickets.BrightonAndHoveAlbion.com or call the Albion Booking line on 0844 327 1901 (calls cost seven pence per minute plus your network access charge).