What a ride it has been for Becky Langley - but she is not done yet. The Newcastle United Women’s manager spoke to NewcastleWorld ahead of an exciting new chapter at the Gateshead International Stadium.
An ever-present at Newcastle United Women, Becky Langley is under no illusions about the pressure she faces this season. Catapulting the Magpies into the Women’s Super League is the goal - an objective that once appeared a pipe dream.
Six years ago, when Langley took over the reins, this was a part-time gig. A job at Northumbria University teaching the women’s team allowed her to move closer to home, having previously worked at Nottingham Forest.
Like many corners of Newcastle’s infrastructure during Mike Ashley’s apathetic reign, the women’s team - competing in the fourth tier against the likes of Chester-le-Street Town and Chorley - had been neglected. The team were such an afterthought that they were operating as amateurs under the Newcastle United Foundation banner - Saudi-backed ownership immediately changed the dynamic.
Fast forward to the present and Langley has first dibs over Eddie Howe of a revamped media room at St James’ Park. A hectic squad overhaul has added World Cup winners and former England stars to her ranks as Newcastle push to mingle with the elite.
With added resources comes increased scrutiny, but previous pressures helped forge a diamond in Langley. While reflecting on her journey, she tells NewcastleWorld: “I've absolutely left no stone unturned to get to this position.
“Nor am I going to not dig my heels in to ensure I'm the person leading this team into the WSL. I think the fans have probably seen from across the last six seasons that it has been blood, sweat and tears.
“You have to laugh sometimes when I think about how the footballs would be packed in the back of my Fiat 500 and my nana and mum would be helping me wash the bibs on a weekly basis. Even my mum and sister took the money on the gate at one point when we were at Druid Park!
“We've now played in front of 38,500 fans at St James' Park, we're paying players to be full-time professional athletes and have the likes of ex-England Lionesses and ex-American World Cup winners. It's a super exciting place to be.”
With an influx of investment and high-profile stars, the fickle and brutal nature of football would perhaps have the manager’s head as next on the chopping block. But this is a woman who commands utmost respect from her squad - and has complete confidence from the shot-callers above.
Langley battled the hard way to get where she is - and the 30-year-old is in no position to give it up. She adds: “The pace of which I've had to keep up is really quick. You've got to keep up-skilling yourself and that comes from learning from great people that you work with, whether that's staff or players, and it's doing a lot of education alongside what we're doing to study and be that student of the game.
“I'm probably in the best place I've ever been in, in terms of my knowledge and understanding and how to manage players, how to be a good coach on the grass as well. But I've still got so much more to give.
“I'm definitely not the finished article, if that’s the question. I'm still learning, and I think as long as I'm showing that willingness to keep up-skilling, I think, yeah, I'm in a good position.
And with a final message to Newcastle supporters - who have followed her team’s journey from modest obscurity to head-turning heroines - Langley weaponises the feel-good factor on Tyneside and sends it into battle. As someone who predominantly covers the “gotcha” scene of men’s football, this raw ambition is striking but refreshing in equal measure.
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“I've wanted to take a team from Tier 4 to Tier 1,” Langley finishes. “That was my vision when I first joined. Until we get there, I won't be satisfied. And then I guess once I get there, I'll be like, ‘I want to win the WSL now’.
“I want to get into European football. I want to win an FA Cup final. We want Champions League football for our women's team. That was the original ambition from our co-owners and owners a couple of years ago. We've just got to keep striving forward and push to achieve those aims. But it will take absolutely everyone and it's not going to be plain sailing.
“Why be shy about our intentions? We have invested and are working incredibly hard to make sure this team gets into the Women's Super League. I want to be really strong with those intentions and make that clear from the off.”
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