There is plenty for Hannah Hampton to feel optimistic about after it was announced she had signed a new two-year contract extension with Chelsea.
The Blues are heading off on a tour of Australia and New Zealand at the beginning of August as our preparations for the new season step up a gear.
When the competitive action kicks off in September, we will be benefiting from playing all of our Women’s Super League matches at Stamford Bridge. And with several exciting new faces already in the building and crucial existing players including Hampton, Sandy Baltimore and Aggie Beever-Jones tied down to new contracts, there is a renewed sense of enthusiasm around the team environment.
A new deal already signed and sealed means that Hampton can direct all of her focus towards her efforts on the pitch, and she explains to us why she’s so excited to have made Stamford Bridge our permanent home.
‘I think it's a massive step in the right direction,’ she explains. ‘I'm excited to walk out of the tunnel and see all the fans in the crowd and hear how loud they cheer for us as a team.
‘It's always a special moment to walk out in Chelsea blue. The fans have always made me feel welcome at their club. They've always reminded me that in the successful moments they have our backs, but also in the moments where things don't go so well, they're always there supporting us and believing in us, and I think that's something we don't take for granted.
‘We know last year was a difficult year for everyone involved, players, fans, staff included. We didn't like the feeling that we had, and we're here to change those feelings into positivity this year. We want them to enjoy the ride with us, and we want them to feel all the excitement when results go our way.
‘Believe us when we say, if results don't go our way, we feel it just as much as they do. So, it’s understanding that we're just one of them.
‘Ultimately, we want them to keep being there every single game, cheering for us, making loud noises and when they travel away from home, making sure that we turn it into our home ground rather than an away ground.’
Following our domestic Treble triumph in 2024/25, Hampton went on to play a crucial role in England’s win at the Women’s European Championships last summer. Those performances led her to be awarded the inaugural Yashin Trophy for women’s goalkeepers at the Ballon d’Or ceremony last November.
Yet she is not resting on her laurels; in fact, far from it. Hampton strives every day to improve, finding ways to make marginal gains that could be key to making the difference.
‘There are many more aspects of my game that I want to keep on improving and get to the top level that I can be,’ she says. ‘There are those little one per cents that I can pick up in every single area of goalkeeping.
‘It’s the little techniques that I can pick up from other goalkeepers – past and present – that they are unbelievable at. I'd like to bring those things into my game and help push on even more.
‘There’s a lot that I can learn from our current goalkeeping group, and hopefully I can help them with a few things along the way. But to be honest, I think they're incredible as it is, both as players and people.
‘I think I'll be doing more learning from them, to be honest!’
Having spoken about fresh energy for the new campaign and improvements in her own game, Hampton addresses how Chelsea might achieve their aims in practical terms.
For her, the psychological key is a shift in focus away from obsessing over the outcome and instead concentrating on daily actions, effort, execution and raising the level by rediscovering the simple joy of playing football.
‘The prospect of winning three trophies this season really pushes us on throughout the season,’ she explains.
'The WSL is getting stronger and stronger, and I think being able to win the trophy in any season is an achievement in itself.
‘Man City did unbelievably well last year, and they absolutely deserved to win. It just shows that you've got to be on form every single game, which is hard to do.
‘We’re going to have to get Chelsea back to those winning standards, that winning mentality that we are known for, and I'll do everything that I can to help put Chelsea back in that position. I’ll give everything I have for this club.
‘It was a difficult season last year, but those are the ones that you learn from the most, and it's how you bounce back from them.
‘I think the biggest thing for us is being happy every single day in training, bringing out everyone’s strengths so that they can show what they're capable of, and little things in and around the training group that will help Chelsea push on further and further,' Hampton adds.
‘And by the time you get to games, if you've got people who are enjoying themselves, playing their best football, then I do not doubt that Chelsea will be able to win every match.
‘That’s where I think we need to focus on: not putting too much pressure on ourselves, just going back to why we all played football in the first place and remembering that feeling of being a little girl and maybe playing on the street.
‘If we all play for the love of the game again, it's exciting to be a part of Chelsea with the players that we have when everyone's at their best.’