Lauren Hemp believes Manchester City will return from the WSL winter break "in a good place" after their recent form.
City's star winger was reflecting on a whirlwind 2022 that saw her claim a fourth PFA Young Player of the Year award and win silverware at international level with England. The forward spent much of November recovering from injury but managed to win her race against time to be fit for the Manchester derby, where City earned a point after a 1-1 draw.
They had a tough start to the season with back-to-back WSL defeats away at Aston Villa and Chelsea, but are unbeaten in ten games since. City will return to domestic action on January 15 with a trip to West Ham. And as the WSL now breaks for Christmas and the New Year, Hemp is looking to push on again in 2023 and believes she can take her game to a new level.
"I feel like I am getting better as a player," Hemp said. "The team are now doing well, we've picked up a load of wins and are in a strong position.
"We're unbeaten in 10 games, so we're going into the New Year with a lot of confidence. We're in a really good place.
"I'm playing with some really talented people at the moment as well, which helps. For example if I put a decent ball in the box I know Bunny (Shaw) is going to get on the end of it at the moment.
"With my game it's just about being even more consistent in what I do and working a little bit on my shooting.
"The staff here are always pushing me and I know I'm capable of getting even better and want to do that in the New Year."
While Hemp is already looking ahead to the season resuming, she is also using the break as a chance to reflect on an "incredible" 2022. After following up another brilliant domestic season and PFA Young Player of the Year award, with a series of superb displays at the Euros, Hemp has become a household name across the country.
She also scored at Wembley in front of more than 76,000 fans as England beat the USA 2-1 in October. But the forward said it wasn't until the recent Manchester derby where she could take in just what a momentous year it has been for women's football.
"Looking back it has been such an incredible year," Hemp said. "And I've loved every second of it.
"But for us as players we've been non-stop, we had the Euros in the summer and then we were straight back into club football. Now we're able to have a couple of weeks off from playing, I can spend some time with my family.
"I think it's only now that I'm actually able to sit back and reflect on this year. When we went straight into club football, I don't think we could really process what had happened over the summer.
"I think now I sort of realise how much that (winning Euro 2022) has done for women's football and how much the game has come on in the last 12 months.
"You don't think about it when you are just focusing on playing, but then at the (Manchester derby) the other day there were so many supporters there, it's times like that when it really sinks in.
"Just seeing young girls and boys with your name on the back of their shirts is great to see. It makes a massive difference."
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