It has been a summer of change for Aberdeen’s Women’s team. With new signings hailing from Merseyside to as far as Down Under, a new captain, and a new, first-of-its-kind full-time manager for the side, it promises to be an exciting season for the young side who, after another season consolidating their status as a top-flight team, look to kick on and begin to aim higher and climb the table.

It is Hannah Stewart who is tasked with the burden of wearing the number nine jersey for the upcoming campaign, and the 26-year-old forward is relishing the pressure that leading the line comes with. The forward has put the worst of her previous injury woes behind her, and the former Glasgow City and Forfar Farmington attacker is ready to make up for lost time and spearhead the Dons’ attack as they look to improve on last season’s tenth-placed finish.

Speaking at the launch of the Scottish Power Women’s Premier League in Glasgow, Stewart reflected on what was, at times, a challenging previous campaign while also looking ahead to what is in store over the next eight months.

“The biggest thing for us is to push on from last season and make sure we are a better team than we were last time round. As a collective group, we want to get more points on the board, improve our goal difference, and generally put in better performances every week. That is our main ambition. This coming season, we want to play attractive football, to get the ball down and play as well as we can, but ultimately the league, as it does every year, will get more competitive. So, to be happy, we need to get more points on the board and climb the league. Personally, my target for the season is to be in the team every week, to ensure I am a regular. I want to better my goal return. I have spoken to the manager, and we have said I should be targeting double figures. Hopefully, I can cement myself, and that is something I can achieve.”

Back in July, the club made a huge statement of intent when Clint Lancaster was appointed as AFC Women’s first-ever full-time manager. Coming up from the English game, Lancaster held roles at clubs as big as Chelsea, Crystal Palace, and Watford, where he was the head coach and oversaw the side’s promotion to the Championship. Lancaster’s appointment has whetted the appetite of the squad he has inherited, and Stewart echoes the sentiment of her teammates.

“Clint has been great. Being full-time is a game-changer. He has a lot of time to not only analyse the opposition but also analyse the way we played last season. The work in pre-season has given him time to implement how he wants us to play, which for us is massive. Straight from the start, we’ve gotten to work on how he wants to play, and we’ve been able to show that in all of our pre-season games. Hopefully, we can keep learning more from him. For the club to appoint a full-time manager, it shows the intent and it shows where we want to be. To bring in someone like Clint, with the experience he has got in both men’s and women’s football, it is massive. Bringing him in is only going to benefit us as players.”

It hasn’t just been a manager that’s been brought in for the new campaign. Locally born but Australian native Hannah Insch has returned home to support the forward options. Laura Holden, a graduate of the Bristol City Academy, has been brought in to strengthen the midfield. Perhaps most excitingly, English Under 23 international and Liverpool goalkeeper Faye Kirby has committed to playing her part in the AFC Women’s 23/24 campaign, joining on loan from the Scouse club, in a move which Lancaster described as a ‘statement of intent.’

“I’m looking forward to getting started with the new recruits, to bring Hannah in from Australia and both Laura and Faye up from England, it shows Clint’s ambition. He is taking in players that he knows are real quality players. It’s really exciting to get the opportunity to learn from these players and to integrate them into our team and get them playing how we want to play.”

Following the retirement of club captain Loren Campbell at the end of the 22/23 season, it was announced that experienced midfielder Nadine Hanssen would be appointed as the new skipper ahead of the season beginning. Stewart paid tribute to the qualities that her new captain possesses:

“Nadine is a real role model, both on and off the pitch. She is someone that drives standards upwards and demands a lot from us as a group. She has a whole host of experience in the women’s game, coming up North from Aston Villa and playing in the English Women’s Premier League. She will not only be a role model for the younger players but also us older players. Not only is she a great captain, but she is also a great person off the pitch.”

The Dons defeated Spartans by three goals to two down in the capital to kick off their pre-season before dismantling St Johnstone at Cormack Park, running out 11-1 winners in a game where Stewart went one better than a hat-trick, bagging four goals on the day. Understandably, the mood in the camp is high after a successful off-season.

“It has been a great pre-season for us. In training, the intensity has been high, and we’ve been able to bring that into the games we’ve played. All three games have been very different (drawing 1-1 with Hamilton most recently). I think we have learnt a lot from each game and also been shown what we still need to learn, but overall there has been a lot of positives. It helps to come off the back of pre-season undefeated, so morale is high, and we feel ready for the league to start. In previous years, I have been hit badly by injuries, so I know I don’t have time to stop, but the off-season coincides with me being off work, so I was able to do a lot of work and make sure I was able to come into pre-season in the best possible shape. I feel good about myself, I feel fit and strong.”

Motherwell at home is the curtain-raising fixture for the side on the 13th of August. After a trip to Glasgow to not only meet with the media and look ahead but to also meet with her peers, Stewart is raring to go.

“Days like these with everyone together are really good for the league and the Women’s game. Clint asked me to be here, and I was delighted I was able to attend. It’s a great venue to launch the rebranded league and to have representation from both SWPL and SWPL2 here, it’s great. I am really excited for Sunday and for the league to start. As I said, it’s been a great pre-season, and I think everyone is now ready and waiting for the season to start. We want to kick on after the last four or five weeks that we have had together. I can’t wait to get underway, and I hope it is a positive start.”