Crichton 'still good enough for top three' - Brownlie
Motherwell manager says 34-year-old 'still a top player'
Motherwell manager Paul Brownlie believes Leanne Crichton could still do a job for any of the top three in Scotland.
The Scotland legend was a standout performer in her side’s 2-2 draw against Partick Thistle on Sunday.
The 34-year-old joined Motherwell in summer from Glasgow City to take on an assistant-manager role.
“She’s still a top player,” Brownlie told Anyone’s Game.
“I think you guys will have seen that out there. I think she could play for any of the top three but she’s here.
“It’s the next step in her journey, which is a testament to her that she wants to make that step.”
Outside of football, Crichton is a UEFA qualified Coach and also has made the seamless transition into media work with BBC Scotland.
“I think she’s very intelligent in terms of how she plays the game”, added Brownlie, whose side are sixth in SWPL 1.
“She is also very intelligent how she speaks about the game, and she will have a real future in terms of whatever happens next in her career in a coaching sense.”
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Crichton ‘first person I phoned’
The Motherwell boss reckons Crichton could be key in his side avoiding an unwanted battle for the drop, with bottom-of-the-table Hamillton - who Motherwell travel to on Sunday - only six points behind them.
He said: “That’s the challenge I think for somebody like Leanne who’s got the level of experience that she has.
“She’s played at the top end of women’s football for many years and she’s a serial winner.
“Obviously we have a very strong relationship. We worked together at national level as well so when I knew I was coming here she was the first person I phoned.
“I had to ring her because her standards are as high as my standards so we have got a really good balance in terms of how we work.
“When I came here, the one thing that was lacking was role models and it was something that I wanted to implement at a very early stage.
“I think bringing in Leanne set a precedent of how we want to move going forward as a football club.
“She’s different class and already has a fantastic rapport with the young players here.”
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