GIVEN the numerous players Hibernian have lost to English clubs in recent years, the arrival of former Sunderland central defender Charlotte Potts at the club represents a welcome switch of direction.

The 26-year-old, who has also played in the United States and Canada, says she had offers from Serie A clubs Florentia and Bari but instead opted for the 18-month contract on offer in Edinburgh.

As well as a new city, Potts will have a new role as a holding midfielder – but it is a position she knows from her younger days.

Sunderland, who were unbeaten in England’s National League and firmly on course for promotion to the Championship, were dealt a bad hand when the FA decided to void their season, leaving them stuck in the third tier of English football. That, in turn, led to players heading out of the club.

“We took it quite hard – it was a setback for us,” Potts said. “If we’d got promoted I probably would have stayed on because of the career progression and the relationships which had been forged.”

Although the widespread perception is that Rangers are favourites to win this season’s Scottish Building Society SWPL1 title, Potts is having none of it.

“I’ve come up to Edinburgh to help Hibs win the league,” she stated emphatically. “The level of competition is going to be hard, but being around the other players I can see they’ve got the winning mindset. It’s a case of having belief and fighting for what they’ve worked for over the years.

“They’ve proved from winning the cups they can do it. I think I fit in quite well with them – I’m quite a strong character myself.”

As well as being a personal trainer – “it’s more football-based than trying to get someone in shape” – Potts is passionate about promoting racial and gender equality, partly as a result of her own childhood experiences growing up in Gateshead. She is sponsored by Show Racism The Red Card and gives talks in schools, an experience she finds very rewarding.

Potts, who is also a keen boxer, grew up admiring Sergio Ramos and Steven Gerrard, while Roy Keane is another favourite. With role models like that, the area in front of Joelle Murray and Siobhan Hunter is unlikely to be a comfortable one for opposing forwards.

THERE were no surprises in Shelley Kerr’s expanded squad of 25 for the Group E double-header against Albania at Tynecastle a week on Friday, and Anna Signeul’s Finland in Helsinki four days later.

With Fiona Brown and Lana Clelland deemed not to have played enough minutes for Rosengard and Fiorentina on their return from long-term injuries, there is, unusually, only one player not attached to a Scottish or English club. Shannon Lynn has been No.1 goalkeeper at Vittsjo recently, so may have an edge over Lee Alexander and Jenna Fife.

All three played in the Pinatar Cup, with Fife posting an eye-catching display in the 3-0 win over Ukraine. It was, however, her last competitive game, and she will have just next Sunday’s league opener against Hearts before the internationals.

Alexander is in much the same position, other than being between the posts for Glasgow City’s 9-1 thrashing from Wolfsburg.

The goalkeeper, who has been Kerr’s first choice since replacing Signeul after Euro 2017, is one of three City players in the squad. It’s a sign of changing times that Rangers also have three – and that’s before Sam Kerr joins them from City later this year.

It now looks inevitable that Rangers, who with their huge budget and excellent training facilities can attract the best available Scottish players, will provide most of the domestic players to the national squad for the foreseeable future.

Zoe Ness is another who might expect to be called up when she is match fit, while Rachel McLauchlan is also moving to Rangers this year.

WITH Covid-19 cases continuing to rise it was touch and go whether the SWPL season would be allowed to start as planned next Sunday. All credit, therefore, to those who ensured the top of the women’s game is being given the importance it deserves.

While next weekend’s SWPL1 games remain unaffected, the first two rounds of fixtures in SWPL2 have been tweaked to minimise travel. It promises to be a competitive league, with Hamilton Accies, who lost out to Hearts last year, the favourites.

The unavoidable switch to a winter season is going to test the resilience of the players, as no showers will be allowed no matter how cold and wet the conditions become. We are truly now living in a dystopian world.