“You might be very surprised at the answer to this,” says Jess Sigsworth. “It’s not easy to guess what I like doing on days off.”
The Leicester forward is talking about the need to unwind from the stresses of a Women’s Super League relegation battle and the all-consuming nature of her new obsession. “It’s Lego,” she reveals. “I’m addicted. I’ve built Wembley and Old Trafford.
“When you’re doing Lego your mind’s taken off everything else, it’s the only thing that matters and, by the time you finish, you can’t believe two or three hours have just gone. It stops me thinking about football all the time.”
Leicester, too, are building something special, but not unexpectedly their WSL debut season involves considerable mental strain and an outlet is essential. “Football at this level can be quite intense,” Sigsworth says. “Especially if we haven’t got the result we wanted at the weekend the girls can be a bit down. It can be all football, football, football and worrying about what we need to achieve, so it’s quite nice to switch off every now and then. If I just thought about football all the time I’d drive myself mad.”
It was at her previous club, Manchester United, that she was introduced to Lego. “I started last year when we went into lockdown and I just got addicted,” she says before joking that resultant construction projects could yet affect this summer’s holiday plans, with Dubai and Florida facing serious competition from an unlikely rival.
“I love Dubai and I love Florida and but I’ll obviously have to take a trip to the Legoland resort in Denmark at the end of the season. The only problem will be having enough suitcases to bring it all back in!”
By then the 27-year-old trusts last year’s Championship winners will be looking forward to a second season in the top tier after surviving a testing induction. Tempted by Leicester’s ambitious long-term vision and stellar training facilities, Sigsworth was persuaded to leave United by the club’s former manager Jonathan Morgan last summer.
It has not proved plain sailing. With the team then still lacking a WSL win, Morgan was sacked in late November and replaced by Lydia Bedford, a highly regarded Football Association coach, who was previously in charge of England Women’s Under-18s.
So far at least, it seems an inspired switch. Since the installation of Bedford and her vastly experienced assistant, the former England women’s caretaker manager Brent Hills, Leicester have won two key games. Victories at home to Birmingham and Brighton have moved them off the bottom, two points clear of Birmingham, who occupy the sole relegation place.
“We’ve got a bit of momentum now,” says Sigsworth. “We’re starting to look upwards. Lydia’s training sessions are very enjoyable and she’s brought us a bit more together as a team. That’s so important.
“In the past we’ve been very defensive and holding out for draws but we’ve become a lot more attacking. As a forward, it’s nice to be able to take risks. It’s so hard to defend for 90 minutes without making that one mistake that can cost you the game.
“It’s just about being clinical now; we know we’re too good to get relegated. After the FA Cup tie [at Tottenham on Sunday] we’ve got a massive league game at Birmingham; win that and we’ll be in a much better position.”
Not that bidding farewell to Morgan was easy. “I trusted Jonathan a lot – he was a big reason why I came here,” she says. “All the girls got on with Jonathan, he’s got a heart of gold and was great to work with. It’s just that football can be brutal sometimes; if you’re not picking up points the first finger of blame always points at the manager. It’s unfortunate it didn’t work out but I know Jonathan still wants us to do well.”
Morgan was in frequent contact with his Leicester men’s counterpart, Brendan Rodgers, and Sigsworth relished a “big, very enjoyable, training workshop” Rodgers recently staged for the women’s side.
Phil Neville also takes a keen interest in the team’s progress. The former England manager, now in charge of Inter Miami, keeps in touch with several of his former Lionesses, including Sigsworth’s housemate, the Leicester defender Abbie McManus. “Abbie’s always getting texts and stuff from Phil,” she says. “He’s really encouraging.”
The pair live in a village a short drive from Leicester. “There’s lots of lovely country walks,” says Sigsworth. “I’m really enjoying it here – although I still don’t like our league position.”
Despite ranking among Leicester’s senior professionals, her years of scoring goals for Doncaster Belles, Notts County and Manchester United could not quite prepare her for the nerve-shredding intensity of a relegation skirmish.
“It’s completely different from playing for Manchester United,” she says. “There’s huge pressure being at the bottom of the table where every point is critical but I’m enjoying the responsibility and I feel we’ve got a lot to build on. This year’s been a massive learning curve but, if we can just stay up, I know we can go on to bigger and better things.”
Do not bet against a survival celebration at Legoland.
Get to know the players in England’s top-flight better with our WSL player in focus series. Read all our interviews here.
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