Mark Sampson was hopeful yesterday that the new Women’s Super League winter schedule will help improve English players.

The Football Association announced last week that, from 2017 onwards, the WSL will fall in line with the rest of the women’s football pyramid across Europe by running their season from September to May.

Currently in its sixth season, the WSL now has seven full-time clubs and two leagues but with problems surrounding fixture scheduling and the availability of stadiums, a decision was made to shift from a summer season.