McNamara | ‘It’s a dream come true’

Dan McNamara has admitted that it is a ‘dream come true’ to be made the full-time manager of Wolves Women, after being granted Elite Athlete status by the Royal Air Force.

Now more than six years into his spell as Old Gold boss, McNamara will embark on the 2024/25 season as the club’s first permanent women’s manager, while his status as an Elite Athlete is also a first for a service person in the force. Following the transition, McNamara has spoken about the opportunity that has been provided to him, the benefits for all parties that come with his new role and his excitement about taking charge on a full-time basis.

On the opportunity provided to him

“It’s amazing for me. The RAF has been my life for the last 15 years and if you’d have asked me 15 years ago if I’d have the opportunity I’ve got now, I’d have said absolutely not and that it’s unheard of.

“To be the first coach to go into this elite athlete scheme and to get the opportunities that I have had is amazing from my point of view.

“The RAF have played a huge part in my coaching journey so far – not just with opportunities, but also the values they’ve instilled in me.

“We talk about coming through adversity as a group, whether that’s something small this summer or during Covid. All the values that have been instilled in me from the military have certainly came out and been replicated by the girls week in week out.”

On developing young talent

“I’m excited. As I said, I’m the first coach to be afforded the opportunity in football to do it and it will now allow me to really focus on the development of the girls and work hard with our youth players as well.

“We want to focus on them and try and create more English talent for the England team. We’ve been working hard with Sareet (Binning).

“It gives me that freedom to solely focus on football and seeing where it can take us over the next few years.”

On the benefits for all parties

“It’s paramount that we all get benefit from it. We want to help repay the RAF because it’s a massive thing that they’ve done for me.

“I’m looking to try and take the knowledge that I get from the women’s game and from the under-21s. I’m being afforded access to the 21s and I want to take that back into the Airforce.

“I’ve just taken a role with the senior rep team within the RAF and the stuff I’m picking up off James Collins and Ian Sharps is amazing for me to take back into that environment.

“My role within UK Armed Forces women, I’m taking stuff from here and trying to embed that into the UK Armed Forces.

“Everyone is getting stuff from it. Wolves are getting the opportunity to make the women’s head coach full-time for the first time ever, so it’s really important we all come together to take whatever we can from it.

“I’m really excited by it. I know Wolves and the RAF are excited by it, and hopefully the next few years we can go on and do some really good things.”

On working full-time in football

“As a young kid you always dream about working full-time in football. It’s something that is dreamt about by everybody now.

“Did I think it would come as Wolves Women’s head coach? Not when I was 12. You have those dreams of playing.

“For me to get the opportunity to be full-time in football, Wolves has been my life for so long now, is amazing.

“This is something I’m really proud of and it makes all the hard work that your parents and family put into you worth it.

“It’s a dream come true and I’ve got a lot of people to thank for that – family, friends and the Airforce. None of it would be possible without any of what the RAF are doing for me over the next two to three years and hopefully I can repay all of those different individuals with some good performances, good knowledge to go back to the Airforce and stronger relationships between Wolves, the RAF in general, plus the local RAF Cosford.

“We can open up some opportunities for different ideas, different recruitment strategies and much more. It’s a really exciting time and I’m looking forward to playing my part in it.”