Jasmine Saxton is convinced the Belles will reap the rewards of a more positive style of play under ‘breath of fresh air’ new manager Ciaran Toner.
Saxton netted four goals as the Belles eased past Millmoor Juniors Development in the Sheffield and Hallamshire FA Senior Cup in Toner’s first game in charge.
And the striker said she has been impressed with the former Northern Ireland international during his first few days in charge.
“Ciaran’s been amazing and it’s an absolute breath of fresh air to have someone like him around the place,” Saxton said.
“He’s got so much knowledge in the game and we could tell that straight away.
“I think he’s going to make such a big difference to the team now and I think he will take us forward together.
“We’ve shown in this game and the Rugby one last week that we can do things properly.
“The style that we’re playing in now is a lot more positive, especially in the final third and the attitude is there as well.
“We keep pressing and keep working hard for each other so I think the results will come from that now.”
Alongside Saxton’s four goal haul against Millmoor, Hannah McWilliams also netted four times along with a hat trick for Holly Housley and strikes from Jess Tugby-Andrew and Lauren Breen.
And Saxton felt a major positive was the level of control the Belles had on the game.
She said: “I thought it was a very composed performance from us on the day.
“It was very different to what we’ve been doing over the last few weeks but I thought we controlled the game really well.
“We were clinical in the final third and that was a massive improvement because before we weren’t creating enough so I thought we were a lot better going forward this week.”
“A couple of my goals might have come around quite easily but I just kept running and working away to keep looking for the ball and to stay clinical.
“It always makes me feel better when I score goals so to get four of them is amazing because I’ve not had that feeling a lot recently.”
Saxton’s four successes took her to eight goals this season and sees her move clear at the top of the Belles goalscoring charts – an accolade she is proud of.
She added: “It is really good to see my name at the top of the chart and it gives me that confidence because that’s my job for the team at the end of the day.
“As a number nine if I’m not scoring goals, it’s rubbish.
“I think we needed a game like the Millmoor one though because it will get us going again now.”
The Belles return to action on December 3 as Toner takes charge of his first home match with the visit of Barnsley. For ticket information, click HERE.