Former Doncaster Belles star Karen Walker has admitted she is excited about what lays ahead for the club, with their first season since returning to the top flight to begin in just two months time.
The Belles will head into the WSL 1 season full of new recruits, and high quality ones at that, as they look to re-establish themselves at the top of English football.
After heart-breaking relegation three years ago, Walker is thrilled to see the club back in the first division again, and believes the future is more than bright for the club.
Belles back on track
Speaking to the club's official website, Walker said she is delighted to see the Belles back in the top flight again, having won promotion from WSL 2 last year.
She admitted she was "heart-broken when they went down," having become more than attached to the club she spent 20 years with. "To see them suffer so much really broke my heart."
However, now she believes they are back "in the league where they belong," saying "it didn't feel right...to not have [the] Belles in the top flight."
Walker, who bagged 40 goals in 83 games for England during her illustrious career, says that Doncaster "need to be there," that they need to be "competing for trophies and playing against the best," as that is the type of club that they are.
"Slowly but surely, they're getting back to where they should be."
Now, it is time for the club to "consolidate" what they have. The striker says they need to "build" on recent success in order to "remain in this top league" and to "attract even more new players," which will help them "compete once again."
Future is bright
As well as returning to the top division, the Belles have plans off the pitch that show their ambition too, in the form of their Project Phoenix - which will see them create a state-of-the-art facility to train in, and as professionals too, with full-time deals given to 10 players so far.
Walker is almost envious of the plans that will benefit the current players, saying she "would've loved to have played at a training facility like that," as would the rest of her teammates from her playing days.
When she saw the plans, the former Lioness said that her first "thought" was simply "wow," and that to have such a facility available, as well as being full-time, "would have been a dream come true" for her.
The ex-striker concluded by admitting that she is "delighted" for the club regarding the project, and even more so because they are a club who "deserve the best."
Doncaster's 2016 campaign will get under in March, with the FAWSL's big kick-off following a fifth round tie in the FA Women's Cup.