Foy says having a group of players who are all a similar age and friends off the pitch has helped them “gel” on it.
“Off the pitch they are all great friends and they are all pushing each other on to get better, and it’s all starting to show.
“It’s now the older ones who are trying to keep up with the younger ones with how much they are demanding, whether that is extra sessions or what they are demanding off us as players.”
Northern Ireland midfielder Joely Andrews felt the involvement of home-based players Moore and Kerr in Oxtoby’s squad showed the “pathway we have is working”.
“We have the likes of Mia and Aimee Kerr coming in, and they’re not just coming in for the sake of it. They are challenging and pushing.
“They’ve slotted right in and they’re pushing the standards for training.
“Mia is really talented and she’s really good on the ball. She is a really exciting going forward and she is aggressive off the ball too.
“She’ll bring a lot to this camp and she brings a lot of energy into training, so it’s really good to have her.”
While Foy believes Moore could eventually play across the water, she says, “timing is everything” and the Women’s Premiership is not a bad place for her development under head coach Kim Turner, who is a former international and player for Manchester City.
“For now, she seems quite happy with where she is at and where she is developing.”
“Mia could probably use an extra year here, especially coming back off her ACL. She was able to leave a mark on the league this year, and I know she can be even better.
“She scored 12 goals for us this year and we all know she can improve on that next year.
“She has great coaching under Kim, who has been across the water playing and coaching. Mia has no better mentor to make those decisions.”
