Maidenhead United’s 2025/26 season commenced with the arrival of former Premier League striker Dave Kitson at York Road. In his first managerial role in senior football, Kitson took the helm of Maidenhead United Women on the eve of pre-season training.
In the second of a two-part interview, Dave sat down with MUFC Media to discuss his thoughts ahead of the new season, how he’s preparing for his first foray into women’s senior football, and his ambitions for a club first at Maidenhead United.
Having discussed the ambitions for MUFC Performance, our conversation moves on to Maidenhead United Women’s forthcoming campaign. Like the ten seasons prior, MUWFC will play in the FA Women’s National League Division One South West.
An understanding of football at a Premier League level only goes so far when it comes to management of the women’s game – differences Kitson acknowledges as we discuss his preparations for the new season – although the ongoing Women’s European Championship makes for good research.
“I get to go home and watch that all the time,” Kitson explains. “So I'm watching a huge amount of women's football.
“It's really interesting because it is different to the men's game and there are styles of play which are unique to the women's game. I'm getting an education watching it, thinking, ‘oh, I can use that’, or ‘we've got a player who does that - I can maybe use it in that situation’. I'm a nerd about football. I will go anywhere to watch a game of football and every time I learn something new, that's the buzz.
“Obviously it's a different environment [to men’s football]. The way you talk, the way you act, the way you coach, the way the girls talk to you, the way they give you feedback - it's totally different. And that's really exciting because it's all new and your enthusiasm is typically at its best when everything's new and exciting.”
Training began at the end of June, with Kitson taking charge of his first session within hours of his appointment as first team manager. With fitness the focus for the initial sessions, the first and development teams have been training together, accounting for an impressive 44 players with trialists factored in. “Even the squad I played in at Stoke wasn't that big!” quips Kitson. Yet, the 30 degrees Celsius temperature could not hinder spirits at the first session of the season.
“44 was… it was impressive,” Kitson says. “But there you go. That just goes to show you the appetite. Day one, pre-season training, 44 women turned up, which is incredible. And we had a great time.
“What I really loved [was] seeing them motivate and push each other and carry each other through when, you know, a couple of them were flagging and they had each other's backs. I was saying to them, ‘we’re going to need that – [there’s] just going to be some moments in the season where we're going to need that. People are going to need to be supported; recognise it when it happens and ask for help when it happens to you’. And so to see that happen just naturally was fantastic.”
Dave won’t be alone in the dugout. Shortly after his appointment, Kitson was joined by Sean Hillier, the former Brentford Women boss who is now assistant manager at MUWFC. He recalls how a phone call at 6pm saw Hillier try to make it down to training for a 7pm start.
“I thought, well, he's the person for us because that's the sort of commitment that we need,” explains Kitson. “He's put on a couple of sessions. He steps in at the right time to talk to the girls. He talks to them in a way that they understand. It's the right level between encouragement and seriousness and enjoyment. He can make a joke at the right time; he can be serious at the right time.
“His drills are fun; they're game specific, and he's just got a huge amount of experience and he's someone that is not good just for the players, but he's good for someone like me. I can lean on [Sean] and say, ‘oh, actually, this is a bit of a unique situation for me. I haven't encountered this before’. Chances are Sean will have and so he can help me through that.”
Kitson doesn’t plan for Hillier to be his only appointment, however. He’s also looking for a female coach for the senior team in what would be a club first at Maidenhead United.
“It’s really important to us to try to have to a woman on board as a coach for a number of reasons,” he says. “I've tried with a couple of players who had left us, but they want to carry on playing, which is great, and the door's always open for them. But I really want to appeal to women coaches to get in contact. It’s a voluntary role, but it’s a great opportunity to learn and be a part of something exciting.”
Before concluding, we look ahead to the new season, which starts on Sunday, 17th August. “We’re going to give everything we possibly can,” Kitson declares.
“I know and the girls know that the only way we can improve is if we all up our game, and that's really exciting because that's down to us. We're not relying on anybody else. We're not relying on other teams to be poor. We're relying on ourselves to be better.
“Can we back ourselves to be better than we were last year and then go out and execute that plan to be better? The answer is a resounding yes. But it's up to us.”
MUWFC’s fixtures will be announced across our social media channels tomorrow (Tuesday, 15th July) at midday.
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