InterviewGemma Bonner: I love putting the badge on - I'm excited for the future
Gemma Bonner is excited for what the future holds for Liverpool FC Women after putting pen to paper on a new contract with the Reds.
The 34-year-old defender is the club's record appearance-maker in the Women's Super League era and has now further committed herself to adding to that tally.
Bonner enters her 10th season in total with Liverpool and is hopeful the team can build on some solid foundations in the years ahead.
She spoke to Liverpoolfc.com exclusively at the AXA Melwood Training Centre to discuss her new deal, her aims for the upcoming campaign and much more – read the interview below…
Gemma, congratulations on extending your stay here at Liverpool. How easy a decision was it for you?
It was very easy. I think once I knew that the club wanted to extend, for me it was a no-brainer and I'm excited for what the future holds here.
What were the big factors in choosing this decision?
The club is obviously going through a bit of a transition process, but I think knowing there's processes in place and the ambition is to get back and compete for trophies. I think already in the second half of last season there was progression and standards. I think that's something that Liverpool is known for in terms of the winning mentality and, being here, is something I'm always striving to bring to the club.
You have to accept cookies in order to view this content on our site.
Most people know your history here and what you've achieved across your two spells – but how have you found things since returning to the club a few years ago?
I've been welcomed back with open arms. I think the fans have been unbelievable. Obviously it's a different kind of stage in terms of where the team are but I think both experiences [have been positive]. I absolutely love playing for the club and I think obviously the league is getting harder and harder every year. Since coming back, it was our first season back in the WSL and I think each year we have definitely maintained our position in the league. I think for me now it's about pushing on and how we can bridge that gap. I think we've got a fantastic facility here [at Melwood]. We've got a lot of players who have got a lot of potential. We're a young squad but I think it's an exciting time to be at the club and I want to be a part of that moving forwards.
At the time when you returned, you said you didn't want it to be an emotional decision and it had to be the correct one for you – it must feel like you made the right choice…
Yeah, absolutely. I think especially being a Liverpool fan it was very easy to be emotionally attached, which of course naturally I am. I think I care so much about the club and it's something that drives me every single day to be better. I think obviously the players coming into the club, they see the significance of what playing for Liverpool means. I love putting the badge on every day and just trying to be the best I can be and bringing the best version to the team.
You've touched on it already but that progression on and off the pitch, is that a major reason why you wanted to stay?
For sure. I want to be winning things and I want to be at the top end of the table and it's something that at Liverpool you should be expected to do as a club. I think that drive and determination is still within me. I think every kind of progression that's been made has definitely put us in the right position to do that. Obviously there's still a lot that's ongoing, but I think for me I am confident the club is going in the right direction, and we've got a great set of fans that support us. Now it's up to the players to hopefully go out and start moving on that upwards trajectory again.
A lot of players speak about the environment that is created here among the squad, it feels like everyone is so close when you're here at the training ground...
It's probably one of the most together groups that I've been in. I think that's a real strength of the group. Obviously as a team we've maybe had a lot thrown at us, but I think one thing that's stayed solid throughout is the strength of the team. That's always how we move forward. We have such a strong group of not just players but people as well. I think coming back in during pre-season as well everyone is driving and pushing each other because we care about each other. We want to get the best out of each other. I think coming into an environment that you enjoy is really important and I definitely think we've got that here. We've definitely got a good foundation to build on.
It's probably natural that a player with your experience and role that others will look to you for leadership – is that a role you enjoy?
I probably wouldn't say it's something I think about too much. I think it's something I've naturally just done. I've played in a few different teams and a different league. I've had a lot of experiences and if I can help pass on those experiences to make the team better then I'm more than happy to do that. At the same time, I'm also learning, there's a lot of young players coming through and I think we see every single year the standard of the league is improving. I know that I can learn just as much from them as they can do from me.
And the new campaign will soon be upon us, what are your aims for the year ahead?
I think for me, again, we're going through the transition period and it's about trying to find our feet as quickly as possible. The league has progressed and every year seems to be getting harder. I think it's just finding that consistency within the team and making sure that we're finding those performances on a consistent basis. We showed last year in glimpses that we can compete with teams. But now the challenge is doing that on a consistent basis and really just progressing on what we've got and this good foundation.
You mention the foundations here – so how does that look on the pitch?
I think there's a lot of games where we've come away in parts where we've done well or we've not maybe had the complete 90 minutes performance. I think again we go back to the strength of the group. A lot of things have probably been talked about [in terms of] what we've lost. But at the same time there's a lot of things we've got [that are] good in the group. A lot of the players are buying into how we're going to move forward and I think that can't be underestimated. I think, again together, the strength that we know we have a good foundation. We've competed with teams but now we want more. I think being at Liverpool you want to be winning and you want to be competing at the top end of the table and in the cup competitions as well. I think that's something we can have a good go at this year.
Lastly, we can't not mention that first game of the season, it's Everton at Anfield. It must be a really exciting prospect…
When I heard it, I was super-excited. It's a fixture that most people look for first and we didn't have to look too far this year. At Anfield it's always a big game against Everton. I think a lot is spoken about that we haven't beaten them at Anfield, but I think for us we're aware of that, but we wouldn't necessarily overthink it. We have to prepare as we would any other game. For me, it's an opportunity to hit the ground running on that first game of the season.