I love this photo of me and I’ve been thinking about it and agonising over my body language for the past few couple of days.

On one hand, you can see the frustration ingrained throughout my face and body yet we’d just won 5:1. But I wasn’t totally happy with our performance for a variety of reasons and I came away disappointed and feeling a bit down.

A few friends of mine saw this photo and told me I ought to be happy and that a 5:1 win is a good thing no matter the performance. Then another person struck a chord and said to me: “it’s a sign of a good manager to win and not be happy”.

There is of course a balance to be had between knowing what is and isn’t good and knowing what is going to be destructive. On this occasion I just couldn’t hide my frustration because it was genuine. We stopped doing so many things in this match that we had been doing really well in previous games, so I was annoyed and felt it was a step backwards because we replaced that with a lack of effort or just plain stupidity at times.

We still won though and I was really pleased that although we didn’t play brilliantly we were still able to find a way to win comfortably. There’s a fine line though and I keep telling myself that I have to be careful with my body language when I’m operating with a young and new team and that I must be aware of it.

The irony is I only managed to show that frustration for a brief moment as I sent them off on a cool down behind me. I don’t think they would have noticed, but whether that’s a good or a bad thing is open to debate.

It’s important they don’t get the wrong vibe. As much as I was disappointed by things I saw on the pitch, it is also personal. I felt responsible for some of that in the sense that I felt I didn’t make them understand quick enough as the game went on and I couldn’t find the right type of information to give them to make them understand and get the change we wanted to see. Perhaps it’s just down to a lack of experience, but it’s certainly a challenge I’m embracing.

That frustration is still encompassed by a positivity and a pleasant understanding that sometimes they don’t realise what they’re doing well, even when they’re playing well, so you have to be ultra precise with your feedback to get the message across and it gives me and the rest of the coaches something more to work on for next time. And that’s a heck of a lot of fun in itself. I really love this shit!

I’ve found this to be a deeply spiritual ritual. It sounds almost odd to say but it gets me in the mood and focused on the game ahead. There’s nothing like walking into a changing room and seeing those numbers on the wall and your kit ready. I’d like to think it adds a professional touch to the preparation and helps mentally prepare the players and get them in the zone. It certainly gets me in the mood!

I always ask the players and sometimes the other coaches to stay out when I’m doing this as I want to be left alone to concentrate and it’s amazing how much stuff goes through your mind about each player as you put their shirt up on the wall and how it prepares you for the game ahead.

This is of course standard for professional teams, but if you run a Sunday league side or similar, or play in one, then you should start doing this because it really does have an impact. There’s nothing worse than seeing a dozen players all diving into kit bags at the same time and scrambling over stuff in an unorganised and messy fashion. Get to know your players and their sizes and get it all laid out long before the match is due to start!

I admit, that when we’re at home, I leave the door slightly open as the away side walk by and I always can tell if the other team are doing the same by their reaction. It can be really intimidating and indirectly lets them know that they’re going to be in for a game. It’s got great shock value at that level.

Mind games are all part and parcel of football and playing pyschological warfare with your opponents and with your own can sometimes give you that extra belief and edge that you need. It’s the little details that count, but sometimes you have to immerse yourself in that detail and never feel that your boots are too big to do it, especially for the benefit of your own team.

I was pleased that we picked up another three points today but it wasn’t one of our better performances because for some reason or another, we struggled to get going.

Marlborough really should have taken the lead in the first-half and we gave them at least two bites at the cherry before we got our noses in front, which I have to say was against the run of play and teetering on undeserved.

Allana Ashmeil’s low drive in off the post was an excellent finish though and it helped settle us down and as the half progressed we grew stronger and eventually Sarafea Braveboy forced a goal home to give us a 2-0 lead at the break. The two goals came at the perfect time for us in the match and that’s an important ingredient for any successful side to have.

But despite our good fitness levels showing through as the half came to and end, we didn’t really show enough desire and hunger out there and at times too many of them were not putting in the effort they should have been. We spoke to them about this during the break and we came out looking more assured in the second-half.

Marlborough started to visibly fade in terms of their own fitness and struggled to deal with our attacks, especially down the right hand side where they could only clear their lines and conceded numerous corners of which we didn’t capitalise on.

We made hard work of it though and huffed and puffed our way to another three goals as well as hitting the crossbar twice. It was only when the fifth goal went in too that I actually started to feel relaxed and with 20 minutes still to go on the clock, I expected us to finish strongly but to Marlborough’s credit they hung in there and even grabbed a fine goal themselves from a fast counter attack.

At the end of the game I came away feeling as if some of the players weren’t really prepared enough for the roles they played in. We had one or two playing out of their favoured positions and at times it did show. At other times, we learned some more about their strengths and weaknesses and spotted new things we need to work on.

Still, if you don’t play your best and still come away with a convincing win in terms of the scoreline, or even if you just shade it by the odd goal, you can’t complain a great deal about that at all. So fair play to them for grinding out the win.

Team: Syan Armstrong, Alex Lupano, Chloe Julien (Jade Creighton), Nikki Crump, Ellie Sullivan, Melanie Randall, Jade Bowley (Katie Smith), Sarafea Braveboy, Scarlett Hanrahan, Danielle Clare Richards and Allana Ashmeil

Goals: Ashmeil 2, Braveboy, Richards & Smith

I suppose it would be fair to say we’ve been a little bit Jekyll and Hide so far this season. I missed last week due to having a bit of an accident on my bike and we lost 6:1 to Wycombe Reserves when in reality I think we all felt that would be a much closer game. The first-team also drew 1:1 with Team Bath but didn’t have a game this weekend.

Today we faced a strong looking Aylesbury side that have started the season well, so were expecting this to be a really tough match. And for the first 15-20 minutes it was, although we still managed to miss a couple of great opportunities in that time as we seemed intent on walking the ball into the net!

By the time we scored, it was still an even game, although we took over from that point and sailed into a 4:0 lead by half-time. We spoke to the players during the interval about the importance of continuing the good work they’d put in and their response was a better second-half showing including six more goals.

We changed a few things including bringing on a couple of players to see if we could take the performance to another level and try a few new things at the same time. We came away pleased with the response and I really admire how these players still show total respect to their opponents regardless of the score. We kept on playing our football in the right way with the right attitude, so it’s very encouraging to see us dishing out these strong second-half showings and that the ladies are concentrating on the job they’re here to do.

I was really pleased with our shape throughout the match and the work we did in training last week appeared to provide us with a solid base to start out with. It was certainly a match that some of the players will have learned from and we hope they can continue building on the information we’re trying to get across for the future.

We’ve also been doing a bit of fitness work with the players and that told towards the end of the game where we seemed to pin Aylesbury deep into their own half for long periods and looked the fresher of the two teams whereas they looked slightly tired and drained. There’s still many more improvements we can get out of our players in this area yet, but it was the first-time that I really felt I could see the difference and I think the players realised that themselves too.

Despite the scoreline here, Aylesbury are a decent side and I expect them to be thereabouts at the back end of the season.

Team: Syan Armstrong, Kelly Bloomquist, Melanie Randall (Alex Lupano), Nikki Crump (Stephanie Lupano), Ellie Sullivan, Chloe Julien (Sarafea Braveboy), Anita Afonso, Scarlett Hanrahan, Jade Bowley, Danielle Clare Richards (Jade Thirkettle) and Allana Ashmeil

Goals: Richards 3, Bowley, Ashmeil 3, Braveboy 2 and Afonso

The QPR Ladies Reserves lost today against an experienced and well marshalled Oxford City side in a match which proved to be a valuable learning lesson for the Hoops.

We are a young and new team and it showed. We only have a relatively small squad at the present time due to first-team call ups and injuries and when we come up against strong sides like this, then we need a full squad to be able to compete properly.

This match proved that we’re still very much a work in progress and that we can’t blast teams out of sight every week. We went in at half-time 2-0 down and it could have been more, but having said that, the two goals we actually gave away were incredibly sloppy from our point of view and could have easily been avoided had we done the basics right.

I learned an awful lot about our players today and understood a little more about where our strengths and weaknesses lie and where we need to improve as a team. It also served as a potent reminder that many of our players are still young and learning the game. We lacked experience and authority out there in one or two places and needed a bit more maturity to get a proper foothold in the match.

Despite saying that, I was delighted with their response after half-time. They got a bit of a rollicking for their lack of work ethic and desire and came out much improved. We had a fantastic period for about 5-10 minutes where we create two glorious opportunities to get ourselves back into the match, but the Oxford keeper was equal to it with some great saves.

Then we went and condeded another crazy goal that could easily been avoided. Oxford did create more chances though and thanks to a fine performance in the sticks from a half-fit Syan Armstrong we came away unscathed and despite the visitors dominating most of the play, we still created three glorious chances in that second-half which on another day may have yielded goals.

It’s pleasing to see that we can still create opportunities against solid defences and when I look back and think about the actual football that led to those chances, it was some of the better stuff played on the pitch in comparison to Oxford’s goals, which mainly came from individual errors and mistakes.

I’m pretty confident that with some hard work on the training ground, we can solve where our weaknesses lie and improve our strengths, so I’m really looking forward to seeing that evolve as the season progresses.

Team: Syan Armstrong, Stephanie Lupano, Jade Thirkettle, Melanie Randall, Kelley Bloomquist, Katie Smith, Scarlett Hanrahan, Jade Creighton, Jade Bowley, Sarah (Chloe Julien) and Allana Ashmeil.

Meanwhile the first team won 3-0 against Swindon making it six wins out of six, having beaten Team Western last week 5-3!

The QPR Ladies Reserves put in another driven performance away to Ascot to secure their second victory of the season with a resounding 11:2 victory.

We should have been in the lead in the first-half, but fell behind only for Allana Ashmeil to dig us out of jail and put us 2-1 up. Ascott got back on level terms though after we gave away another sloppy goal and it took that to really wake us up and take control of the game.

Katie Smith scored with a terrific looping shot to restore our lead and then Anita Afonso scored with a lovely strike before Allana sealed a first-half hat-trick to take us into half-time at 5-2. In the second-period we dominated from the outset and it was mainly one-way traffic. Allana grabbed another three goals, taking her tally to a double hat-trick, Jade Bowley got a brace and Scarlett Hanharan netted as well.

I was delighted that the entire midfield got on the scoresheet. It’s important the goals are spread and shared around as it breeds confidence and means we can rely on many different players and areas of the side to score goals. We know we won’t win like this every week.

As for the match, well, I thought we were a little bit scrappy at times, but we did play the better football and when we did get it down and tried to work it we played some nice stuff and caused Ascot all sorts of problems. The midfield bossed the game from start to finish and in the second-half really orchestrated the play and created plenty of chances for our strikers.

I was pleased with us defensively too. Although we conceded two relatively cheap goals, we had a number of players playing out of their natural positions so we can be pleased how they worked as a unit. They also kept a clean sheet in the second-half which for me was a plus and they couldn’t have done much more in the circumstances.

Despite the scoreline, there’s still lots for us to work on and we’re not kidding ourselves as we’re still blending as a team and learning about each others games. We had another couple of debutants out there too, so with that in mind, we’re doing well and are on the right track and it’s exciting to think what they could achieve if we continue working hard on the training pitch as we’re making good strides forward.

Overall, it’s a fantastic achievement to hit double figures for the second time in a row and the players know they are setting themselves very high standards that they need to maintain on a regular basis. They can be very proud of there work here though as it was another top win and remarkable scoreline.

Team: Syan Armstrong, Alex Lupano, Stephanie Lupano, Kelley Bloomquist, Melanie Randall, Jade Bowley, Katie Smith, Scarlett Hanrahan, Anita Afonso, Chloe Julien and Allana Ashmeil

Goals: Ashmeil 6, Smith, Afonso, Bowley 2 and Hanrahan

The first-team made it four wins out of four on Tuesday night with a hard-fought win over Chesham in Amersham. The Hoops now sit at the top of the table as they set the pace at this early stage of the season, maintaining their 100% winning record.

Cherrelle Albert scored a wonderful goal midway through the first-half to secure the points. After picking up the ball and playing a quick one-two she smashed the ball into the top corner which had “goal” written all over it as soon as it left her boot.

The Rs played well in the opening 45 minutes and had several great chances to extend their lead. Carla Williams had a header deflected just wide after a cracking move and cross and Camilla Ray hit the post from a corner just before half-time.

In the second period and having played two games in three days (after beating Yeovil 2:1 away on Sunday) the team began to tire, but they put in a real gritty performance to hang onto their lead, including going down to 10 players after an injury to Camilla to secure the win.

Team: Jess, Ceryl Guard, Simone Dwyer (Capt), Mel Bidewell, Caroline Barker, Camilla Ray (Hannah Curnow), Danielle Richards (Maurine Gray), Suze Wylie, Susannah Abbott, Carla Williams and Cherrelle Albert

Subs: Maurine Gray and Hannah Curnow