Man City Women's Star Toni Duggan Talks Sergio Aguero and Playing for England

It's Inside Manchester City Week at Bleacher Report and day three brings an exclusive interview with Toni Duggan, star of City's women's team.

More from Inside City Week—Dzeko exclusive, Angus Gunn exclusive, City launch new app, Best City Academy Stars

When Manchester City decided to enter a side into the FA Women's Super League back in April 2013, they knew they needed some big-name signings to raise the profile of the initiative and to ensure they could compete with sides already established in the competition. Manchester City Women wanted the best players they could get hold of.

In came England international Toni Duggan from Everton Ladies, a forward capable of adding goals and quality to the City attack. A former FA Women's Young Player of the Year, Duggan was seen as the kind of marquee signing needed to really get MCWFC's name out there.

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Their first campaign is now over. They finished mid-table in the league and won the Continental Cup, beating Arsenal Ladies 1-0 in the final. A major piece of silverware in their first season in the top flight surely ranks as a successful season and a platform for future success.

I caught up with Duggan earlier this week to get her thoughts on being one of the stars of the women's game.

ROB POLLARD: What’s your assessment of your first season with City?

TONI DUGGAN: I think it’s been a bit of a roller coaster. In terms of the results we’ve had, it’s been a bit up and down, which we expected at the start of the season with a few of the girls not playing at this level before and it being a new process for the club. But in terms of the club overall, it's fantastic what they've achieved—the way they’ve taken us on board and under their wing, the support they’ve given us has been amazing and just glad we could repay them with a trophy at the end of the season and it’s a just reward for all our hard work and it’s a thank you to the club for the commitment they’ve made to us.

RP: You mention there the Continental Cup win. Are you hopeful it may prove to be a similar situation to the men’s team who won the 2011 FA Cup—their first trophy in 25 years—and it acted as a springboard for continued success?

TD: Yeah, before we went into the final we spoke a lot about that and a lot about it being a turning point for the men. Hopefully it can be a turning point for us as well. We know we need to improve the squad. It’s just been a great experience this year for all of us, really, and I think it’ll stand us in better stead for the future, and hopefully we can go on and replicate what the men’s team have done and be as successful as them. I think it’d be great for the club if we can do that.

RP: Do you and the other ladies watch a lot of the men’s games and take inspiration from them?

TD: Yeah, it’s a big inspiration to us all. It didn’t happen overnight for the men’s team, and we’ve taken that on board and we have spoken a lot about it. We do look up to the men and we’ve seen how it’s worked for them, so we do need to be a bit patient. Hopefully, the success will come, but I believe there’s no better club to be at in women’s football, or in men’s, than Manchester City. We try to get to the games on a Saturday or a Sunday and it’s great to see the lads in action and to try to learn from them. For me, watching Sergio Aguero week in week out helps my game massively and I’m sure the other girls would say the same about various other players.

RP: How important is it that clubs like City make an effort to push women’s football?

TD: It’s very important. I think you’ve seen the likes of Liverpool, Chelsea, Man City—the top clubs—all now tapping into the women’s market and developing that side of the club. It’s great for women’s football, and I look at how far we’ve come and it’s great to have teams like this. There was always the Liverpool Ladies and Manchester City Women, but they weren’t associated with the club, but I think you can see the rise in standards, the professionalism of the game—just everything has been lifted because the top clubs are now on board and long may that continue. Hopefully other big clubs can do the same.

RP: It sends out a great message to young girls who want to be involved in football. Do you feel like a role model to them?

TD: Yeah, it’s great. Women at stadiums attending games is now massive, they’ve done a lot of research into that, and hopefully they’ve benefited from having women’s teams as well. It’s great for the little girls coming through the system now to have women to look up to because, when I was younger, my role models were more, like, Michael Owen and players from the men’s team, but I get kids messaging me now saying they look up to me and that’s really touching for me, but it’s great for the kids to have people to look up to.

RP: Your goal against Chelsea was a wonderful moment. You showed great technique to chest and volley the ball into the top corner like that. Is that the best goal of your career?

TD: I’d say it’s up there, yeah. I was happy we could get the win kick on from there and win the cup.

RP: Do the club have any plans for preseason?

TD: Not that I know of yet. I think we’re looking to get away for preseason, which, in my experience, I’ve never been away at club level. When we first came in last year they took us to La Manga, which was great because usually we only go away with our national teams but at club level we’ve never had the funding available to do that. That’s another positive of being at Manchester City, they have the funding to take us away and really gel as a team. Hopefully they can plan something like that for us and I’m sure we’ll be ready and raring to go come the start of the season.

RP: You’ll be looking to improve your league position next season, I would presume. Was consistency an issue this season, do you feel?

TD: Definitely. We haven’t hidden from that. Obviously, the success in the cup can overshadow how you’ve done in the league, but we knew it was gonna be difficult and that’s why at the start of the season we didn't set any targets and that’s probably why we’re so over the moon we won the cup. But to win the league you’ve got to be consistent, and we didn't do that this year. The table doesn’t lie. We know that if we can a few more additions to help us improve as a squad, then things are only going to get better for us. You know, we’re not too down about our league position this year because we had no expectations and we’re just glad we had a bit of success.

RP: What areas need improving? Or is it less about signing players and more about getting cohesion between the ones already there?

TD: I think cohesion is the right word. We all have different experience and it’s gonna take time for us to blend like the men’s team did. It took them time to get used to each other. There were people coming and going all the time and it’s about getting that balance right. You look at our squad, and the staff as well, and even Nick Cushing, a fantastic coach, but he himself had never been involved in the women’s game, so for us all it was a new experience. There won't be any excuses next year. We’ve experienced it for a year and hopefully everyone can pull together. I think we can strengthen in a couple more areas, a bit more depth in the squad, like at Liverpool and Chelsea. That’s what they’ve got and that’s what we need if we want to be successful.

RP: Are there any targets set for next season, for you personally and for the team?

TD: Yeah, that’s part of making progress. Personally, I set my own individual targets anyway, but if we want to improve, we have to sit down and have those conversations. Because this was the first year, I don't think anyone expected how it would go and there was a variety of experiences in the squad, so we didn't really know what to expect, but we definitely know what to expect from the league next year, and we know what we need to do to get better.

RP: I’ve just seen that England have sold 55,000 tickets for the game against Germany...that’s incredible. How does that feel?

TD: It’s unbelievable. It’s something I dreamt of as a kid and many people told me it wouldn’t happen. The fact that it is happening and it’s not far away, and I’m in with a shout of being in the squad, is a dream come true and I can’t wait for it. It just shows how far the women’s game has come. The FA have had to cap the attendance at 55,000, which is unfortunate, because we felt we could have had a few more, but unfortunately things happened with the tubes etc. But that figure itself—I don't think the FA expected, I don't think anyone connected to women’s football expected it. It does show there’s an appetite there for women’s football in this country.

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RP: England have qualified for the World Cup in Canada. That would surely rank as a career-high if you were to go there and have some success?

TD: Yeah, it would be unbelievable. I dreamt of playing in front of thousands of people as a kid but I dreamt of playing in World Cup finals as well. I’ve been to two under-21 cups and I’ve got experience. It was unbelievable. To do that at senior level is something not many people get the chance to do, so I’ll be working from January with Man City and there’s no better place to be than there to get me fit and firing for the World Cup and hopefully come June I’ll be on that plane heading to Canada.

RP: How have you found Nick Cushing? Has he helped develop your game?

TD: I can’t speak highly enough of Nick. He’s brilliant. He worked with the academy before he came on board. The improvement the squad’s made from January to now has been unbelievable. I think if you looked at us in preseason in La Manga and look at us now, you’d know what a great coach he is and he’s a good person to be around, and I can see us being successful with him.

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RP: Who do you think has been the Player of the Year in the women’s team?

TD: We have a Players’ Player award and my vote this year went to Jill Scott. I played with her for a couple of years at Everton and she’s a great player, but her work rate goes unnoticed. She’s always doing the scrappy bits that no one else wants to do. She’s winning the battles in midfield. She’s really stood up and took the lead in central midfield and she’s had a great season.

RP: What about the men? Their form is somewhat patchy at the moment and there appears to be a few problems that need ironing out. What do you think the problem is?

TD: I think there’s been a little bit of a blip in form, but I think people are quick to jump on it now because of how successful they’ve been. It’s only a short period they’ve gone through of struggling, but I’m sure they’ll get it back. Everyone has a little blip. Unfortunately theirs has come now and I’m sure they’ll come through it. You look at the squad, they've got so many great players and I’ve got no doubt they’ll be up there or thereabouts come the end of the season.

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RP: You mentioned earlier Sergio Aguero being a great influence on you personally. Do you think he’s the best out-and-out striker in European football?

TD: It’s tough to say. Luis Suarez had a great season last year, and there’s a couple of other great talents, but I think he's definitely up there. He’s unbelievable. He’s just ruthless and when he gets a chance, he punishes teams and he’s a joy to watch. I think he’ll have a big say in where the title goes this year.

Rob Pollard is Bleacher Report's lead Manchester City correspondent and will be following the club from a Manchester base throughout the 2014-15 season. All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Follow him on Twitter: @RobPollard.