QPR Women are a progressive and ambitious team. The club is committed to investing in their women’s pathway and the future looks exciting for the Tier Four club. But the 2025-26 season hasn’t exactly gone to plan. They fell short of their promotion spot target and lost their head coach last month. Sport is rarely a straight line.
Clare McEwen speaks in-depth and exclusively to Head of Women’s Operations, Will Lambert and striker Jess Leach ahead of their final game at Loftus Road, to reflect on the season.
I was lucky enough to speak to QPR back in November. CEO Christian Nourry spoke then about how they’d taken the team from being part of the Community Trust, 18 months earlier, to having access to the same training facilities as the EFL Championship men’s team.
They’d recruited their first full-time coach and started to build the staff around the team. The women get sports science and performance provision that is among the very best in the FA WNL, and the ambition is to get to WSL2 in the next three seasons.
Head of Women’s Operations, Will Lambert, talked about bringing the women’s team under the QPR umbrella to align the men’s, women’s, boys’ and girls’ teams in terms of staff and resources. Plus their ambition to keep progressing up the pyramid and putting the team on the ‘pathway to success’.
The pathway may have been a bit bumpier than planned this season, but it’s clear that QPR are building strong foundations for a bright future.
And there are still plenty of positives to take away from this season. They’ve played more games at Loftus Road than previous seasons, drawn bigger crowds, and started seeing the fruits of their youth pathway as the reserve team competes in the Reserve Plate Final against Middlesbrough at St George’s Park this Sunday.
Jess Leach and Will Lambert catch me up on the progress over this season, and on what’s to come next season.
How has the season gone in terms of the goals you set out at the start of the season?
Jess Leach: It’s been good. It’s been quite a constructive season. We’ve learnt a lot about ourselves and we’ve been resilient to challenges.
I think we’re now on a good trajectory to push on for next season and really try to achieve what we set out to achieve. We’re in a good mindset and the club’s definitely backing us all the way. It’s been good so far.
Will Lambert: To echo what Jess was saying, we were in a really good place in pre-season. We felt like a lot of planning and work had gone into it. We had come off the back of our first international trip, to Singapore, and came a close second in the final.
We had a few new signings and were in a really strong place. We started the season off really strongly, but it’s a long season and I think we definitely learnt a lot about each other as staff, as players. It adds to what our journey is and where we’re going.
We’re looking for promotion, we want to get out of the league, we’ve been very open and honest in terms of that’s where we’re going and we’ll continue to be ambitious. But we’ve definitely had some challenges this year when it’s come to performance. We’ve gone through a change of head coach, which we’re currently recruiting for – I guess it’s part of sport and part of the industry we’re in. But it’s how we come out the other end and what we’re going to do next season.
We’ll continue to be ambitious and progressive as a women’s football club. And we will get there. It’s just a matter of when. We’ll continue to put the players and the staff in the best place possible to go on and achieve that success.
We’ll continue to be ambitious and progressive as a women’s football club. And we will get there. It’s just a matter of when.
Will Lambert
Operationally, what’s worked this season?
Leach: We’ve grown a lot. We have good backing from medical and the S&C [strength and conditioning] coach. We have nutritional help as well. Those things help us as a group.
Lambert: We wanted to finish top and we’re going to fall short. But what we’re trying to do is improve and be as high in the division and tables and pyramid as possible.
But that’s not to shy away from the successes we’ve had this year. We broke our record attendance earlier in the year at Loftus Road. I think previously it was around about the 1,300 mark and we managed to get it to 2,300, which for that week, we were definitely up there in terms of bigger attendances across the pyramid. So that was a big one.
Medical insurance, which is a big topic within the Women’s National League, is something we’re looking at and taking very seriously.
will lambert
We’ll continue to grow commercially, there will be some developments in terms of media in the off-season, where we’re looking to put ourselves in the spotlight a little bit more.
And then another big success was that last season we had an average age within the squad of late 20s, 27, 28 and in our last game, the average age of the squad was 22. We’ve had some great younger players that have come through our reserve system.
They’ve been given opportunities within the team and have really flourished. They train with our first team now on a full-time basis and I think that’s also shown within the reserve team themselves, who have now got a final on Sunday at St George’s Park.
It’s a really exciting time for us as a first team, but also within our youth system – we’ve made big advancements with it in the last year.
Infrastructure-wise going into next year, there’s some changes that are going to be taking place. Medical insurance, which is a big topic within the Women’s National League, is something we’re looking at and taking very seriously. Enhanced nutrition, as Jess mentioned we added a nutritionist this year, but we’ll be looking to enhance the nutrition for next year.
It seems like very basic stuff, but going away with a meal, for example, at every training session, which players should have every time they come in. Yeah, there’s some changes… we have to be realistic in terms of the investment that we’re putting in – obviously everything costs and we’ll always have a budget – but we will continue to increase and invest in our system, in our girls’ pathway, and our women’s first team. As I’ve mentioned before, putting them in the best position possible to achieve success.
You talked about Loftus Road, so how has having more games and the back-to-back games at the end of the season helped push the team on?
Leach: Yeah, 100% all the girls love playing there. It’s something that you dream about when you’re playing for a first team, you always want to play at the home stadium.
And then to have fans there. This last game, the men’s season ticket holders got free entry to our game, so it was like bringing us all together. And then you look out into the crowd and see little girls there with their parents and their families. And yeah, it is amazing.
It’s something you dream of when you’re growing up, wanting to play and inspire the next generation.
I think when you are growing up playing football, you look up to all these people and just wish that one day that’s you out there. It’s such a historic club and a historic stadium and it’s amazing to play there.
We are very lucky that we’ve got back-to-back games there so it’s only going to drive the attendance. We all love it and I know that the club are hoping to push to have even more games there next year, which will be amazing.
It’s something you dream of when you’re growing up, wanting to play and inspire the next generation.
jess leach
Lambert: I don’t know if you’ve been down when we’ve held a game there, but I definitely encourage you to come to our next one or one next season.
There’s always the invitation for anyone to come down. It’s just a really nice day. For anyone that hasn’t been to a women’s football game, particularly at Loftus Road, it showcases the level and the talent that’s out there, which people might not know.
I appreciate a lot of spotlight goes on to WSL and WSL2, but I’ve been involved for two years now, and the level has increased dramatically in terms of technical ability and athleticism.
It’s also just a really nice occasion for the players, the staff, but also for the fans. It’s heartwarming to see a lot of the fans and young girls that are running to the front with boots and programmes and shirts they want signed.
I would definitely encourage as many people as possible to come down and experience it. I’d encourage people to bring families and friends and I think next Sunday [26th April] is a great opportunity to do that.
For anyone that hasn’t been to a women’s football game, particularly at Loftus Road, it showcases the level and the talent that’s out there, which people might not know.
will lambert
So we can say Loftus Road has delivered on what you hoped for this season?
Leach: Yeah, 100%.
We’ve had some really tight games there. They’ve been tough, but we rose to the occasion. We’ve scored some great goals, we’ve progressed as a team, and I think you can see how close we are, on and off the pitch, with how we’re playing together now.
Loftus Road is a special place. We want to just keep playing there and hopefully bring more people to come and watch us.
Lambert: I would have loved to sit here and say that we’d won our two games at Loftus Road, and maybe I’m being biased, but we definitely deserved to win both of those games.
That aside, we produced two really exciting games for fans. It’s definitely not been shy of goals, it’s definitely not been shy of excitement, so I don’t doubt that the final game there will be full of goals and excitement for fans.
It never fails to deliver when we get down to Loftus Road. I think it gives the game an extra edge.
Speaking of which, who makes up your audience?
Lambert: It’s quite unique, we have a real mix of regular fans who are there every week, who we love to see. They’re at every game and I think it goes to show what kind of club QPR is in terms of being a community-based club and very reflective of the community.
But it’s also nice to see some new faces that we’re getting every week, which does often change. We do a lot of work, we’re trying to reach out, we use our Community Trust to help get out into the community, whether that’s reaching out to local schools or local grassroots clubs.
I think women’s football will continue to grow at a quick rate and it’s nice we can be part of that journey. It’s always nice when we get the mix of different generations who come through the door, it’s very nice to see.
Loftus Road is a special place. We want to just keep playing there and hopefully bring more people to come and watch us.
jess leach
You were talking about your reserve team and their final. There’s obviously a huge sense of pride for the club and it’s a great sign for the future. How is the feeling within the club?
Lambert: It’s the excitement of getting to a final that not everyone gets in their career. And to do it so early on is nice for that group, for the staff, as well as the players.
We have a coach that’s going from the training ground, which is taking the players, the staff, and a lot of the parents. We’ve put that on from a club perspective to support those guys and make sure they get the experience of the full day. We’re trying at the moment to secure the men’s first team coach to give them a really nice experience.
And just the opportunity to go to St. George’s Park and be there. I’ve seen some of the packs that have been sent across using the Bobby Moore changing rooms, so I know they’re being put in a really plush area of that facility. For post-match food, they’re going across to the Hilton Hotel so they’ve got a full day planned for them, which you’ve got to give props to the Women’s National League and the support they put on for those days, because they make it a real occasion for them.
For our young players it’s definitely something they’ve been excited about. No pressure for the final, but fingers crossed, if they can get the win, it will go down as something that’s really big and important for us. It’s a reflection of all the hard work and investment that’s going into this pathway at the moment. And the girls really deserve it because they’ve put a lot in this year and will continue to work hard.
If we don’t get the result we want, then we’ll go on to next year and fingers crossed we can make the distance again.
How would you sum up the season both with respect to the project and the game on the pitch?
Leach: Like I said, the season’s been great, but it’s one for growth, for sure. We’ve learnt a lot about ourselves and we’ve had some really high highs, some great wins.
It comes with ups and downs, but it’s one that we will all remember as a transition period; where we really built the bond between the girls and we push on to next year, where we’re looking to get promoted and have a really good season.
It’s been one I’ve really enjoyed and hopefully we go and get that success we want.
This season has been one that we will all remember as a transition period; where we really built the bond between the girls.
jess leach
Lambert: Yeah, exactly that, it’s mixed feelings. There will be feelings of disappointment, of course, because we were clear with what our objective was and what we were trying to do, but that doesn’t change.
Am I proud? Yes, because we’ve had a lot of challenges, we’ve overcome them and we’re in a really good place now. We’ve had some tough games towards the back end of this year, but the way in which we’ve delivered ourselves in those games, it’s not as if we’ve been scraping by. I think if we were to reflect back, we probably deserve more out of those games.
I think consistency is going to be a big one for next year, to ensure we’re approaching every game as we know we should be, and then we continue to deliver in terms of performance.
But this season is going to add to our learning curve and it’s going to add to our development and journey going forward.
So yeah, definitely mixed feelings, but one that we look back on really proudly. There’s loads of positives in terms of youth development, in terms of commercial growth, in terms of fans, and building that identity.
We know that we’re two years into this project now and we will continue to grow and invest and develop. We’ve got to look forward to next year, enjoy this couple of weeks off and then, as soon as we’re back, in the back end of June, we’re going to be looking forward to what’s to come.
There’s a lot of reflection to happen in the off-season and we’re going to have a new head coach taking the position soon, who no doubt will be bringing a lot of experience and I’m really excited to work with that person.
