Leicester City Women's Rebuild: Tierney Stays to Lead the Charge

When Leicester City dropped out of the Women's Super League in May, the fall hit hard and fast. The relegation to WSL 2 did not just cost them their status. It ripped the squad apart.

Fourteen players have gone in the summer window. Nine of them were on the pitch for that brutal play-off defeat by Charlton Athletic. Janina Leitzig has gone to Manchester United. Hannah Cain, Noemie Mouchon and Jutta Rantala – the attacking core that once gave Leicester a cutting edge – are now at Everton.

What is left is a club staring at a full-scale rebuild in the second tier.

Amid the exits, one decision cut through the gloom.

Tierney stays to lead the rebuild

Sam Tierney, captain and longest-serving player, chose to stay. In July, she signed a new deal that runs to 2028, a statement as much as a contract.

The 27-year-old has played 151 times for Leicester. She has lived the climb, the struggle and now the drop.

"I'm not the type to want to jump ship. Since I've been at Leicester, I've created a genuine connection with the club," she told BBC Sport.

"I wanted to succeed and we've had a good number of years where it's been up and down, but I feel like now we're at a point where we can rebuild."

Leicester’s reputation has taken a battering. Two wins from 22 league matches last season, a -41 goal difference, and a relegation that mirrored the men’s team, who fell to League One. Questions followed quickly: would the women’s side stay at King Power Stadium? Would the budget be slashed? Was this the start of a slide?

Tierney pushes back against the perception.

"I think it's difficult because Leicester, at the minute, gets a bit of a bad rep. The club is fantastic and so are the people.

"It's a family kind of club and we're just going through a change. I am very proud to play for Leicester."

From park pitches to long-term vision

Tierney’s loyalty is not blind. It is rooted in what she has seen change.

"When I first joined Leicester, we were training on one of the local parks. We weren't at Belvoir Drive where the men were. The progression is incredible," she said.

She joined from Sheffield United in 2020. Since then, she has played under seven managers, helped win promotion to the WSL in 2021 and reached the Women's FA Cup semi-finals in 2024. The churn has been relentless, but so has the ambition.

Now, with the squad stripped back, Leicester have chosen clarity over chaos. Players who wanted to leave have been allowed to go, bringing in fees that are being recycled straight into the rebuild. Six new signings are already through the door. Three more players have renewed alongside Tierney.

Only time will show whether it is enough, but the captain is already looking beyond survival.

"I want to make sure people want to play for Leicester. I want people to stay at Leicester. I want people to be jealous of Leicester."

"I know that's the potential of this club and hopefully we'll get that."

She talks about sustainability, not just promotion. Leicester have felt like a yo-yo club. Tierney wants that label gone.

"The type of person I am means I'm not happy if I don't feel like I'm finished somewhere," she said.

"The direction the club want to go in and the change that needs to be made to do that, I'm on board with.

"Ultimately, my biggest thing is to make sure people feel the same connection that I have to the club and they want the club to progress.

"The moment that I leave, I want Leicester to be in a better position than when I started here."

A different Leicester

Pre-season has already given a glimpse of what this “different Leicester” might look like. A win over Rugby Borough. A draw against Manchester United. A defeat to Liverpool. Mixed results, but a different energy.

As the WSL 2 opener against Sheffield United on 6 September (14:00 BST) edges closer, Tierney senses a shift.

"You can see there's been a reflection period, there's been a review and you can see the direction we want to go in. We can feel that. We've changed," she said.

"Players change all the time, every team goes through that, but it's important that everyone coming in has the same drive and desire to commit to it.

"We've got those people and it has been quite refreshing. We want to be a different Leicester and it's time to change the narrative on who we are and how we're seen."

For Tierney, that change is not just tactical or structural. It is emotional. The last few seasons have been draining. The constant threat of relegation, the weekly pressure, the sense that one mistake could drag the club closer to the edge.

"It's hard as a player. You're trying to give it your all but things just aren't going right," she said.

This year, she wants something else: enjoyment. Not complacency, but a season where the team can play on the front foot, not just cling on.

"We want to be an exciting team, we want to be a team on the ball, we want to be a team that's difficult to beat and we want to surprise some people.

"Of course the aim is to go up. But it's got to be done in a sustainable way because if I sit here this time next year and we're in a worse position, then there's no point.

We're going to make sure we're ready to challenge at the top of this league, get promoted and stay in the WSL for years to come.

Relegation sparked an exodus. Tierney’s decision to stay turns the page. Now Leicester have to prove that this rebuild is not just about returning to the top flight, but staying there long enough to make everyone else, as she puts it, “jealous of Leicester.”