‘My big aspiration is to bring the best out of players’

My name is Emily Simpkins. I am the assistant head coach at Birmingham City and I currently work alongside the England women’s under-19s as part of the England Elite Coach Programme.

My first memory of football was my fourth birthday and I was in my Aston Villa kit. I have loved football ever since.

Growing up I was the only girl playing with all the lads and I would play in the boys’ teams at school.

I joined Derby County from the under-12s to around the under-14s and played for other local teams like Leicester City and Chesterfield before going into senior football with Nottingham Forest.

I had spells at Doncaster Rovers Belles, Leicester City, Coventry City and Birmingham City but didn’t sign professionally until 2015 with Doncaster Belles, when the manager was Emma Coates, who is now the England women’s under-23 head coach.

After that, I moved to Brighton & Hove Albion for a few years before spending the 2022-23 season at Charlton Athletic and last summer I became the assistant head coach at Birmingham City.

My passion for coaching has been there since I was in year 10 in school when you have to do work experience.

I did my work experience with the Derby County Community Trust and after the first week I was like: ‘Wow, you can be a coach as a job!’

So once I finished school, I went into coaching and I always worked as a coach, only stopping when I became a full-time professional footballer.

I have been so lucky with the coaches I have worked with. The biggest thing about the best coaches I have worked with is how they make you feel, and they can build your development and confidence.

Amy Merricks at Brighton & Hove Albion was really good for that and I also played under Hope Powell there as well, which was a win-win because I was developing as a player but also taking little bits from them as a coach too. 

Emma Coates at Doncaster Belles was another one who really impacted me and those three probably stand out in how they made me feel as a player.

From a coaching perspective, my big motivation is to bring out the best in players, whether that is with the seniors at Birmingham City or younger players, like when I was an FA Skills Coach or when I worked with the under-16s.

Whatever age the player is, my big aspiration is to bring the best out of them while constantly pushing myself as a coach.

That is why I think being on the England Elite Coach Programme is so beneficial because it will help me develop as a coach and experience the elite environment of St. George’s Park, the national set-up and world-class staff.