Beat Manchester United in the early kick-off at the Amex on Saturday and Brighton, temporarily at least, will move top of the WSL. That would be one hell of a statement and, for Nikita Parris, another vindication of the decision to swap United for the ambitious Seagulls in the summer.
The 30-year-old has fully bought into the new manager Dario Vidosic’s philosophies. That was a huge selling point when she joined on deadline day, one of 12 summer signings.
“Brighton have been going for many years, they’ve invested heavily in the women’s side,” Parris says. “Ultimately the next step was to get in a manager that was going to play a playing style that attracted players to the club. In Dario, in his playing style, the risk, the bravery, the ball possession and everything about who he is as a person and how he sees football, they’ve got that, and he is the reason why I joined Brighton.”
Vidosic came from Melbourne City’s women’s team as a bit of an unknown entity and, to an extent, Parris had to go on gut instinct. “When I had a call with him, I was just like: ‘Wow, this is how I see football,’” the forward says. “That’s important.”
Brighton are thriving with three wins in four games, their only defeat a tight 1-0 loss to title-chasing Manchester City. For a team who have undergone such a huge makeover, it is hugely impressive. For Parris, clarity is the key.
“I don’t think there’s many coaches in football. There’s a lot of managers, but not a lot of coaches. I think that’s the difference. I haven’t had a coach like Dario since Nick Cushing at Manchester City. There are not many coaches in the game that dissect the game in the way he does. How he sees football is very specific, very entertaining. Everyone wants to play possession football, but you’ve got to set up to be able to play possession football.”
How does he achieve that? “He doesn’t just say: ‘I want you to play a 4-3-3, go out there and play.’ He is very specific in what moments he wants players to join in and where he wants you to be in certain moments. That leaves out any grey areas, any margin for error. At the same time, your teammates know exactly where you’re going to be on the pitch. That’s what helps you be able to click because, ultimately, it’s 12 new faces, different playing styles, different personalities coming in, but when we’re on the training field we all want to learn. It’s like being at school, asking questions, and that’s what I love about football. The moment you stop learning is when you should stop playing.”
Critically for Parris she is also getting minutes and feels valued. Since leaving City for Lyon in 2019, she has struggled to nail down a regular starting place. She moved from Lyon to Arsenal then spent two seasons at United. “It’s super-important to be playing,” she says. “Not just sitting on a bench just because you’re at a club that people perceive to be a top club or a top-four club and, ultimately, wasting your talents.”
Parris has started Brighton’s past three games, including a League Cup tie, having come off the bench in the opening two games in the 72nd minute and 59th minute. “As a forward, to come on and get 15 minutes here, 20 minutes there, but never really establish yourself and be able to get 70 to 90 minutes each and every week, it can be difficult. Not to say that you deserve to play every 90 minutes as a forward – that’s not the case. If you don’t perform, you ultimately don’t deserve to be in the team, but when you do perform and you’re still not getting the minutes, then that’s when you have to look at things and reconsider your position.”
Parris is hungry. Despite having not played for Sarina Wiegman since November 2022, she has not given up on working her way back into the England fold. “I will always want to be a part of the Lioness squad, whether it’s in major tournaments, warmup games or qualifiers,” she says. “My focus is always on club, because in order to be able to have a chance to be in the team I have to perform well consistently at club. But I’ll never stop working towards that or start writing myself off. I want to give Sarina a headache. I want to make those decisions as tough as possible for her.”
Saturday’s game gives Parris a big chance to show why she made the move and how much she still has to give at the top level. There will be emotion there too. “It’s a little bit more connected in terms of it being my former club but, for me, it’s the clarity of knowing exactly what I need to do as an individual and collectively to get the three points under the belt that focuses me. It’s going to be a massive game for us.
“As a team, it’s about taking it each week, each game, at a time. But also, we know that nothing’s concrete at the top, they’re not untouchable. We know that if we have our best game and play our style, as you’ve seen against City, the margins are fine.
“That is the difference in the WSL now. Teams have picked up managers that have really concrete playing styles and defensive and attacking formations that make it difficult for teams to come and get points from you. That’s the exciting part of the WSL. No game is a given.”
