Taking over at a time when the women’s team still had to travel to training and matches without a bus, Powell immediately set about instilling a professionalism that would act as a precursor to the ‘how to win’ culture established 23 years later.
“It was about being on time, eating the right food, getting the right expertise in, such as psychologists and strength and conditioning, and trying to create a professional environment, even though the girls were working,” explains Powell.
“These are little things, but I thought they would really change the mindset of the players and staff.”
By employing a psychologist to support the senior side, Powell became the first coach of any England football team – women’s or men’s – to provide specialist psychological support.
While her willingness to embrace change wasn’t for everyone – she recalls encountering “a little bit of scepticism and uncertainty” from fellow coaches – Powell was unwavering.
The move was part of a radical overhaul of the national set-up, which saw the establishment of under-17 and under-19 women’s teams. Every group was instructed to play a 4-3-3 formation to ensure players were accustomed to the playing style used by the senior side. Each cohort was also supported by a dedicated psychologist, with Marcia Wilson and Amanda Croston helping younger players and Misia Gervis supporting the first team.
Powell says: “I just thought, why not start early? Why wait until they’re senior players? They want to go on this pathway and become senior players. There are going to be some challenges along the way, so let’s give these kids some tools so they can help themselves.”
The initiative meant members of the current Lionesses squad were introduced to the concept of psychological support from a young age, with senior figures such as Lucy Bronze part of the under-17 set-up during Powell’s tenure. Indeed, each of the 11 starters in the Euro 2022 final against Germany have progressed through the age-group pathway established by Powell.
It is perhaps no coincidence that players such as Bronze and Leah Williamson have gone on to speak openly about mental health – the latter talking movingly about her struggle with endometriosis – although Powell admits she initially turned to psychologists with a shorter-term aim in mind.
“I embraced it because if anything can make even a 1% difference, it’s got to be worth a try,” says Powell.
The theory was put to the test after England’s opening match of the 2009 European Championship. Pitted against Italy, they fell to a 2-1 defeat,, external with Casey Stoney sent off after only 28 minutes.
In an interview, external last year Gervis, who accompanied the squad to the tournament in Finland, recalled her role in helping them recover.
“As we came off the bus from the game, Hope said ‘over to you’, which basically meant me talking to the players and trying to navigate through the emotional turmoil,” Gervis explains.
“I remember that meeting really vividly and it was about how we validated the emotions, but also how we wanted to define ourselves, what happened next, how we were able to learn from the game without blaming each other.
“We spoke about things and we had some values that we returned to – things like ‘reclaim your power’, ‘action makes the fear go away’, ‘know that you count’. These were things the players had written collectively and they kind of pulled us together.
“And then we recovered and, by our fingertips, got out of the group.”
In one of Gervis’s first workshops with the squad, players were asked to contribute to two lists – one entitled ‘Empowering Beliefs’ and the other headed ‘Limiting Beliefs’ – to encapsulate their thoughts about each of their tournament opponents. The exercise helped understand the players’ perception of their eventual opponents in the final.
“I wanted to get a sense of what they believed about themselves and what they believed about other people, other teams and how they, in a sense, were empowering other teams,” says Gervis.
“The limiting beliefs list for Germany was long, believe you me. But if you don’t acknowledge that then you don’t have a starting point to try and get people to view themselves differently.
“We did it for all the countries in the Euros because, if we didn’t ask questions about that, then you invisibly take that baggage on to the pitch rather than kind of going, ‘Oh, that’s what we think. That’s not going to help us, so what do we do? How do we change that?'”
Gervis’ presence in the camp set a precedent that would be followed by future England managers.
Mark Sampson, who led the Lionesses to a third-place finish in the 2015 World Cup, and Phil Neville, who took the team to a third consecutive major tournament semi-final in 2019, both employed psychologists to support players dealing with the pressure of elite competition.
Sometimes it can accumulate in sudden and unexpected ways.
England, ranked 43 places above opponents Cameroon, were heavy favourites when they met in a last 16 at the 2019 World Cup in France.
The game ended in a 3-0 win for the Lionessess. But the evening was far less simple than the scoreline suggests.