Rachel Daly, Aston Villa's captain, is preparing for her fifth season with the club as she looks to guide a rebuilding squad toward better results after a disappointing end to last season. The 34-year-old, who broke into Leeds' first team as a 16-year-old back in 2008, is now the most experienced player in a Villa squad featuring several young talents, including 20-year-olds Georgia Mullett and summer signing Mia McAulay from Rangers.
Daly, who won the Euros with England in 2022 and helped the Lionesses reach the 2023 World Cup final in Sydney, says she takes pride in mentoring the club's younger players. "A lot of the youngsters look up to me. It's a nice feeling. It shows that they respect me and they value me, which is nice," she said. She added that she encourages open communication within the squad, drawing on her own experiences from earlier in her career when conditions for women's football were vastly different. "When I was younger, we were paying to play, we were in men's kits... I try to give them my perspective of where I was at their age."
Having joined Villa from Houston Dash after the 2022 Euros following six years in the NWSL, Daly says she values stability and has fully committed to the club's project. "I like to set my roots at places. I don't like to jump about," she explained, adding that Villa "has a big place in my heart" and feels like home.
Daly retired from international duty in April 2024 after winning 84 caps and scoring 16 goals for England, a decision she says was driven by a desire to prioritize her personal life and focus solely on club football. She watched this summer's European Championship victory as a spectator, admitting the nerves of watching rather than playing were difficult. "It's awful actually, I much prefer playing than watching," she said of the tournament, which included a tense penalty shootout. "I was just like, 'just win, please!'"
Reflecting further on stepping away from the national team, Daly said the choice allowed her to recover better physically and spend more time with her family, including her nephew. "For club football, it's given me more of a focus: 'That's my one job'." She noted that being away for international duty for extended periods had taken a toll, and that she now feels "fresher" without the added travel and disruption to her routine.
On the pitch, Villa are aiming to bounce back from a ninth-place finish last season, which included a run of four consecutive defeats to close out the campaign. Daly acknowledged the scale of the challenge in a competitive Women's Super League. "There's no denying that it's the best league in the world for a reason and it's not just us that are investing," she said, describing the current campaign as "a bit of a transition, rebuilding year" following the departure of several key players and the arrival of new, younger faces.
The league itself is expanding this season with two additional teams joining, a development Daly welcomes. "It excites me. The league has been kind of at a steady place for quite a while but we need growth, we need change," she said, adding that more fixtures would mean more excitement for fans and players alike.
Villa face a demanding start to the season, opening away at Chelsea on September 5 before hosting defending champions Manchester City eight days later. Daly, who has never played at Stamford Bridge, is relishing the challenge despite Villa's heavy 4-3 defeat there in March. "If you want to be the best, you've got to play the best and I think there's no better place to start than playing Chelsea," she said, adding, "Big hitters early doors. Let's see what happens."
Away from football, Daly revealed she has taken up golf over the past year, reaching a handicap of 19, though she insists her life outside the sport is relatively low-key. "I'm not that exciting, to be honest," she said. "I walk the dogs, play golf. I don't do a whole lot."
Based on reporting from Guardian Football.