Morris on new deal: “It’s such an exciting time to be part of the Club"

Ella Morris spoke about the trust from the Club to hand her a new, long-term contract – and she’s ready to repay the faith shown in her.

One of the standout stars in second half of the 2024/25 campaign, where she claimed the Juniors’ Player of the Season award, the defender has since been recovering from her second Anterior Cruciate Ligament injury in her career, which she suffered at the backend of May, 2025.

‘Character’, ‘resilience’ and ‘determination’ – those are just a few words that Head Coach Martin Ho has used to describe Ella, as she approaches the final stages of her rehabilitation, currently completing laps of running on the grass once again.

Despite not being on the pitch at any point this season, Ella was thrilled to see the Club put even more trust in her and the strong first half of the season has made her even more excited to get back out there.

“I'm very excited, it's an amazing Club to be a part of in general,” she told us, after signing a new deal. “Just seeing the growth of the team from last season to this season, how Martin's come in and really giving the girls a sense of belief in how we're playing.

“It's an exciting time to be part of and we're pushing in the league now. It’s definitely a Club with ambition and a Club I want to be a part of.

“For Martin to show that trust without seeing me play physically yet means everything. In any sport, having the manager believe in you is massive, and knowing he has that belief gives me confidence that I can come back, develop again, and get back to playing football.

“The development of the team has been massive. It’s not even about a huge change in personnel, it’s the style and you can see what Martin has given the team in terms of confidence and freedom to play.

“I’ve started integrating more into team meetings, listening to tactics, and thinking, ‘that would suit me, I could bring something there’. It’s such an exciting time to be part of the Club.”

Completing every minute in our last eight games in the WSL last term, where she also scored her first goal in for the Club in our clash with Aston Villa, it has been a very different experience for our number three watching from the stands this campaign.

While it has been a tough experience for her, she has been filled with plenty of pride to see the growth of the side, as we currently sit fourth in the table, but has given her extra motivation to get back on the pitch sooner.

“It’s been tough, definitely,” she explained. “The first few months were really hard, especially going to watch games, but I’m so proud of the girls. The development and the growth from last season have been brilliant to see. It gives me real joy seeing us win, push for top spots, and do well - but it also gives me that extra drive because I want to be part of that success.

“The support from my teammates has been unreal - I can’t fault them. They’ve been there every step of the way. Even little things like people asking ‘how my day’s been’ when I come into the gym. We’re such a close team and that’s another huge reason why I want to stay here.”