Jo Potter on winning Manager of the Month, the secret to Palace's strong December, and Sheffield United

Women

11 Jan 2026

December's WSL2 Manager of the Month Jo Potter sat down this week to reflect on a very successful December, and look ahead to Monday's clash against the Blades.

Palace Women played four games and won three in December, with the only defeat coming to UEFA Women's Champions League holders Arsenal in the Subway Women's League Cup quarter-final.

An Adobe Women's FA Cup win over Lewes was sandwiched by wins over Birmingham City and Bristol City in the Barclays Women's Super League 2, as the Eagles climbed to fifth in the table.

As a result, Manager Jo Potter won the WSL2 Manager of the Month award for December, and there was a Player of the Month nomination for striker Kirsty Howat as well.

Reflecting on what it meant to win the award, Potter said: "It's a credit to my staff, first and foremost, and to every single player that was in and around the squads that week.

"I think it was deserved for the whole team and the whole squad."

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We upped our intensity, we upped our work rate and the girls put in 110% every single game and training session.
—Jo Potter

Speaking about what she felt the most important factor was in Palace's success, Potter said: "Being able to get the results on the back of the performances was massive for us.

"We knew that we needed to start getting points on the board and climbing up that table because we were performing really well in large parts of games.

"We upped our intensity, we upped our work rate and the girls put in 110% every single game and training session.

"We were like: 'we're not going to sulk and we're not going to feel sorry for ourselves - we're going to put in the work' and we definitely did that and I think that helped with the results and the performances."

Asked to pick a favourite moment throughout the month, Potter said: "There's a few! I think the game against Birmingham was key for us.

"You can't negate the start of the run as well - when we managed to beat Ipswich away after going 1-0 down.

"It kind of all came together against Birmingham and that confidence just stayed with us after that clean sheet.

"There were some really top performances against Birmingham, and then to go and play a really tough midweek game against Bristol and get a result there was really outstanding."

Palace's season resumes tomorrow, where they travel away to Bramall Lane to face Sheffield United at 19:00.

Looking ahead to the clash against the Blades, Potter said: "We know it's going to be a tough game. It was unfortunate last time.

"Again, we had most of the possession, we had the most shots I think we've had in the league this season - so I think it's important to show the growth that what we've gone through.

"We've got to try and carry on the momentum that we had before the break, as it is really difficult when you've had a winter break to pick up that momentum again and to kick off where you left.

"We've got to make sure we get the girls back into good habits, back into ways of training and ways of playing and keep that belief there because that's massive for us."

Palace take on Sheffield United at 19:00 on Monday, 12th January and are next in action at home on the 25th January - when they take on Durham.

This fixture will be our 'Kid's Day' where fans under 16 can get a ticket for just £1!

Tickets are on sale for this fixture, you can get yours by clicking the button below.

Buy Durham tickets here!

Buy Sheffield United tickets here!

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