By Rachel Gore (6/9/25)
Above: Amy Merricks. Photo: Birmingham City Women.
Ahead of Birmingham City’s opening match against Bristol City on Sunday, Impetus Football spoke to Amy Merricks, Birmingham’s manager, about the upcoming season.
The 25/26 season is Merricks’ second one in charge of the Blues. She’s “really proud” of what the club did last season but aims to go one step further this year. She wants to win the league and ultimately find a way back into the Champions League.
Merricks made the move to Birmingham City ahead of the 24/25 season, having previously managed the England Women’s U19s squad. Working with an international side poses different challenges to that of domestic football however, if anything, it is domestic football that Merricks knows best.
Experience serving as Assistant Manager and then Interim Head Coach on three occasions for Brighton & Hove Albion means that Merricks knows English football well. She is aware of what “WSL ready looks like” and is building “the club, the infrastructure and the team” to ensure that they can play in the best way possible.
After last season, where the Blues narrowly missed out on promotion to the WSL after finishing second in the league, Merricks knows “what the Championship brings” which “is another string” to the club’s “bow”.
Their short fall last summer has led the squad to be “driven more than ever” and after preseason it is evident that players are “in a really healthy place”.
Merricks described how the club’s variety of preseason fixtures have been useful as they’ve challenged the team “physically, technically and tactically”.
To build on the team’s existing depth and excellence, Merricks has made numerous additions to the squad over the transfer window. This conversation with Merricks took place only an hour after it was announced that Ji So-yun had signed with Brimingham on a loan from Seattle Reign.
So-yun is an experienced midfielder who won six league titles in a 10-year period with Chelsea before she moved over to the NWSL. Merricks described the South Korean international as a “serial winner”.
Lucy Newell and Libby Bance have also joined the Blues on loan. Bance joins from Brighton and Newell from Manchester United. Both are young ballers who will be looking to get minutes at the WSL2 side.
Birmingham City have also made seven permanent signings during the recent transfer window. One of which is the singing of Océane Hurtré from PSG. Hurtré is a French youth international who is “eager to play in front of the supporters” and is excited to “discover the stadium and win many matches” there.
The stadium in question is St Andrews, which became the Blues official home last season. Merricks said that her team are “so fortunate to play there” and described the experience as “incredible”. In the stadium, the staff and players can “feel the fans behind” them.
Speaking on the club’s fans, Merricks expressed how they came out in full force last year. She sends out some instructions for fans ahead of Sunday’s opening match: “Come and get behind us, sing for us and be with us every step of the way because it’s going to be a hell of a season”.
Birmingham City play Bristol City on Sunday 7th September at St. Andrews Stadium.
Follow Impetus on social media –
Twitter (X): @impetusfootball TikTok: @impetusfootball
Instagram: @impetusfootball
impetusfootball.org 