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Beth Lindop
LIVERPOOL, England — At the full-time whistle at St Helens Stadium on Sunday afternoon, Liverpool boss Gareth Taylor gathered his players together in a huddle. His struggling side had just won their first Women’s Super League (WSL) game of the season, beating high-flying Tottenham 2-0 with two stoppage-time goals, and the emotion — and relief — was palpable.
«That’s what happens when you trust in what we do,» he told the team. «The energy was good today. I’m so, so proud of you.»
Among that elated cluster of players was midfielder Denise O’Sullivan, who had just made her WSL debut for the club after signing from NWSL side North Carolina Courage only eight days earlier. O’Sullivan is one of six January signings made by Liverpool in an attempt to bolster Taylor’s squad for the second half of the campaign. The reinforcements are badly needed, too: With nine games remaining, Liverpool are propping up the bottom of the table, one point from safety.
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Head of recruitment Rob Clarkson has been tasked with identifying the necessary quality and experience to ensure the club do not get dragged into the league’s inaugural relegation play-off in the spring. Liverpool have spent accordingly with this month’s recruitment drive totalling more than £1 million ($1.37 million) — paid for using the money raised from the departure of star forward Olivia Smith to Arsenal for a then-world-record fee of the same amount.
As their new record signing — brought in for a fee of £300,000 — O’Sullivan knows the expectations on her are high.
«I’m really excited,» O’Sullivan told ESPN. «It took a while for things to come together and the deal to get done, but I’m really happy to be here. The club has been fantastic and having an Irish contingent is here with Leanne Kiernan and [technical co-ordinator] Niamh Fahey has made things easier.
«I’ve been in the States for nine years. I played at one club and had the best time over there, but at the end of last season, I just got a real urge that I needed a new challenge. I played in the WSL before [for Brighton] for a few months back in 2020 and it is a really world-class league, so it just felt like the right step.»
O’Sullivan’s signing is a coup for Liverpool, who had attracted interest from a host of other clubs in the WSL and in Europe. Having won more than 128 international caps for the Republic of Ireland, the 30-year-old arrives on Merseyside with enormous pedigree and a hunger to return the club to winning ways.
«Liverpool is one of the best clubs in the world, one of the biggest clubs in the world,» O’Sullivan said. «So I think that the name itself was a main attraction right away. Another thing was hearing about the kind of facilities the club has here, that was massive for me.
«I think you really have to be here to see how good they are and being part of that the past few weeks has been absolutely incredible. When you show up every morning, you feel like a professional footballer. You’re really looked after, everything is there for you.
«Coming in every morning, having chefs there to make your breakfast, you have everything on board that you need to feel your best as an athlete and as a footballer. There are saunas in the dressing room, jacuzzies, everything that you need. And then walking into the training ground, everyone is just so friendly and everyone has a role within the club, so it already feels like home.»
Indeed, Liverpool’s training ground — the AXA Melwood Training Centre — is one of the club’s greatest assets and has been key to attracting a number of players to Merseyside in recent times. Home to Liverpool’s men’s team for more than 70 years before they relocated to a state-of-the-art new training facility in 2020, the club had initially sold the site to a local housing developer before owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) bought it back for £13 million in 2023.
The venue is among the best of its kind in the WSL and acted as the symbol of the club’s renewed commitment to its women’s team following their ignominious relegation to the Championship in 2020. However, despite securing a top-four finish in just their second season back in the top flight in 2024, Liverpool have not yet been able to take the next step and emulate the successes of the club’s men’s team, who won their latest Premier League title last term.
The departure of star forward Smith in the summer was a huge blow. Long-term planning for the current campaign was also scuppered by the delayed arrival of new head coach Taylor, who was only officially appointed in August due to stipulations in his contract from his previous club, Manchester City.
While the former Wales international has failed to deliver instant results on Merseyside, sources told ESPN there is an acceptance within the club that his task has been complicated by a disrupted summer, while he has always remained a well-liked figure at the training ground.
The win over Spurs was a culmination of months of hard work, with evidence of Taylor’s influence clear even before Mia Enderby scored twice in stoppage time to seal a priceless three points. Certainly, for O’Sullivan, the head coach’s vision for the club was one of the factors that compelled her to join the two-time WSL champions.
«I had a Zoom call with Gareth before signing, and I was really, really impressed,» she said. «He has a clear vision of how he wants the team to play and being here now and being part of his training sessions, I can really see that. I think he’s a very good coach and there is so much detail in his coaching. He sees the little things that can improve you as a player and I do really think I’m going to improve working with him.»
Taylor’s assignment at Liverpool has been made even more challenging by a deluge of injuries to key personnel, with three first-team players suffering anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injures in 2025. On an emotional level, the squad was left devastated by the death of beloved former manager Matt Beard in September, and the team’s kit manager, Jonathan Humble, passed away suddenly in October.
While it is impossible to quantify the impact of those tragedies on Taylor and his players, it would be remiss to suggest they have had no bearing on the team’s form in what has so far been — for a multitude of reasons — a difficult season.
But, against Spurs, the spirit and commitment of the group was clear, and O’Sullivan is confident the club has all of the ingredients to make the second half of the season a success.
«I really, really want to help the team,» she said. «That’s why I came here. The desire is massive. Everyone is contributing to that throughout the club, and they all want the team to be in the top half of the table. I obviously think for this year, the main thing is to get out of the situation that we’re in and to get out of the relegation battle. From speaking to everyone in the club, within the next few years, they want to be competing to win the WSL. And that’s why I’m here. I want to win trophies with Liverpool and push the team on.»
Indeed, whatever happens in the remainder of the season, there can be no escaping the fact that Liverpool will still fall short of achieving the club’s ultimate ambition of becoming one of Europe’s elite.
«This is just the start,» Taylor told his players on Sunday afternoon. Now, with that elusive first win under their belt, Liverpool will hope it is the beginning of an exciting new chapter.
