Wiegman responds to Earps autobiography: “I tried to be as honest as possible” | OneFootball

England manager Sarina Wiegman announced her latest England squad from Wembley Stadium this morning. Inevitably, there were few questions about that squad and upcoming games against China and Ghana – most questioning focused on her response to the accusations and criticism levelled at the England camp by Mary Earps in her autobiography.

Earps accused Wiegman of ‘rewarding bad behaviour’ by recalling Chelsea goalkeeper Hannah Hampton to the squad in 2023, following alledged poor behaviour throughout the 2022 European Championship. She also criticised Wiegman’s handling of the battle over the number one spot as ‘bullsh*t’.

Asked for her response to the statements, the head coach reiterated her commitment to keeping conversations ‘private’, but did comment on the benefits of realising that every individual is different:

“We always have conversations with different players all the time and that is what my reality is. Someone else’s reality can be different because how you experience things is very individual,” she said, explaining that: “I just know what I want to do is create an environment where we speak up, where I give clarity, where I always communicate with players when it’s necessary.”

Wiegman emphasised that, although Earps and Hampton were both ‘incredible goalkeepers,’ she will ‘make decisions to win’, resulting in Hampton claiming the top spot – and going on to star in England’s victory at the European Championships earlier this year.

Asked for her thoughts on Earps’ comments around the process of being told she was no longer number one, Wiegman was clear: “I don’t think I can change that. What I tried to do is be as honest as possible, and have a very good working relationship [with Earps] and I think that’s what we had. And I can’t control the other things.”

She also suggested she wants to move on, reflecting on her relationship with the PSG goalkeeper.

“What I should say also is that I’ve really really enjoyed working with Mary. She’s retired now and we had incredible times and I always cherish that and I really enjoyed it,” the England manager said.

Finally, Wiegman was asked if she is worried if the controversy around Earps will be disruptive to her squad.

“No, I’m not worried about that. I think that’s always like when there is in teams, there’s always dynamics going on. We’re working with people and everyone is different. So no matter what topic there is, there’s always conversations going on and sometimes you need some more effort in it, sometimes a little less effort in it,” she said, highlighting the importance of open dialogue and support: “You just want to be open and I want my door to be open at all times.”