Mary Earps destroyed by Sarina Wiegman as England boss issues five-word response | Football | Sport
Sarina Wiegman has finally addressed the criticism levelled at her by former England goalkeeper Mary Earps. And in merely five words, she destroyed any argument the ex-Lionesses stopper had about being replaced in goal by Hannah Hampton. Delivering her response to Earps’ explosive autobiography for the first time whilst announcing her latest squad at Wembley, the Lionesses manager simply stated: «I make decisions to win.»
In her book, ‘All In’, which was serialised in the media, Earps claimed she informed Wiegman that «bad behaviour is being rewarded» after Hannah Hampton was brought back into the fold. Earps subsequently confirmed her international retirement ahead of Euro 2025, whilst Wiegman’s choice was justified with Hampton shining as England successfully retained their crown.
«That’s her book, a lot of responses on it and I don’t think I can react to anything more because there’s a lot of private conversations that I always keep private,» said Wiegman
«I have conversations with different players all the time. And what my reality is, someone else’s reality can be different. Because how you experience things, that’s very individual.
«I just know what I want to do is create an environment where we speak up, where I give clarity, where I always communicate with players when it’s necessary. And also, I make decisions to win.
«What I’ve said all the time is that we (had) two incredible goalkeepers within the goalkeeper group and at the end, I made the decision that I came to and that’s what it is for me.
«What I should say also is that I really, really enjoyed working with Mary. She’s retired now and we had incredible times.
«What I’m trying to do is be as honest as possible and have a very good working relationship and I think that’s what we had. I can’t control the other things.
«So I just stick with what I want to do, how I want to do it and trying to be clear and honest as possible and make decisions to win.»
Wiegman confirmed she had spoken to Hampton regarding the controversy but had not been in touch with Earps, who faced jeers when she returned to Manchester United with Paris Saint-Germain last week.
With her squad containing players who have worked alongside both Earps and Hampton, who is unavailable due to injury, Wiegman might understandably anticipate further complications.
«No, I’m not worried about that,» she added. «I think there’s always dynamics going on. You’re working with people and everyone’s different.
«No matter what topic there is, there’s always conversations going on. You just want to be open. I want my door to be open at all times to have conversations when that’s needed.
«Is it disappointing? Yeah, of course. As I always say, I always keep conversations private.
«I can’t control other people. What I try to do is communicate at all times and I’ll make decisions in what I think is the best team to compete for the next camp or for the tournament. I’ll make decisions to win and that’s what I stick with.»
