Mikey Harris was delighted to hand young defender Grace McEwen her WSL debut in Sunday’s game against Manchester City.
At 16 years and 205 days the Academy graduate became Albion’s youngest WSL player when she came on for Jorelyn Carabali in the 83rd minute of the 4-1 defeat to the joint league leaders.
“She has played in the cups but what an experience for her, coming up against [WSL leading goalscorer] Bunny Shaw,” said Harris, Albion’s interim head coach.
“That’s something she will never forget. We are a club that believes in our academy and we want to produce our home-grown players who know what it means and understand the identity of the club. To have her on the pitch is a real boost for everyone.”
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Sunday’s loss left Albion tenth in the table but they have the opportunity to climb to eighth if they can beat Leicester City at the King Power Stadium on Sunday.
“Every week, every game is a learning opportunity,” added Harris. “We don’t get too high when we win and score seven goals away from home and we don’t get too low when we get beaten. We’ll review Sunday’s game honestly and we’ll look to get better each day.
“If you stick to that process you can move forward as a group. The squad's character and desire to learn is brilliant and I love working with them.
"They want to get better and are very together as a group. It’s intense, with the game coming thick and fast, but we have to keep moving forward and look ahead to the Leicester game next Sunday and the opportunity for us to get a good result."