‘I just see her as a darn good manager’: Trailblazing Waterlooville chief on appointing female boss to men's football team
The former Infinity coach was last week appointed as the new club’s first-team manager
New boss Lisa Gale has been pinpointed as the perfect appointment to spearhead Waterlooville’s resurrection.
And owner Lee Stainton is adamant the former Infinity coach possesses the talent to be managing even higher in the non-league pyramid.
After a 27-year absence, Waterlooville AFC will be back on the 2026-27 fixture list, with the ambitious Stainton overseeing the club’s rebirth.
After dismissing ex-Pompey winger Jack Maloney as manager before a ball had been kicked, he last month turned to former Hawks and Gosport boss Shaun Gale to lead the new club.
However, with Gale subsequently returning to Westleigh Park to become Aaron Martin’s assistant, his wife, Lisa, was instead handed the Waterlooville first-team reins.
And the trailblazing Stainton has lifted the lid on the reasons behind the appointment of the Uefa C licence coach.
‘I just see her as a darn good manager and a darn good coach’
He told The News: ‘If somebody wants to throw a dig at me because we have appointed a woman, that’s just negativity I don’t care about. That doesn’t interest me.
‘But if they genuinely want to know why I think Lisa is good enough for the job, it’s because of her background, it’s because of the knowledge I know she has. If somebody thinks differently then they simply don’t know Lisa.
‘I just see her as a darn good manager and a darn good coach. The fact she’s a woman is irrelevant, she is good enough to do the job. She should be in the Wessex League, she should definitely be at a much higher level than we are starting at.
‘Shaun and Lisa were going to come in together. Obviously Shaun has now joined Havant & Waterlooville, but nothing has really changed from my point of view.
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‘Lisa was somebody I was really interested in recruiting, she knows her stuff, she’s a proper manager. I am more than happy with Lisa on her own, I know what she is capable of. The players we’re going to sign also have no issues whatsoever with her coming in.
‘It’s very rare to appoint a female manager, I appreciate that, but I don’t see Lisa as a woman. I respect her capability to do the job, that’s the only reason why I brought her in - I know she can do the job that I want her to do.
‘She has been a coach for years, her qualifications are probably way better than most at that level. This isn’t about publicity, I genuinely have a lot of respect for Lisa, I’ve known her for a long time and I owe it to her to give her the opportunity.’
Gosport Borough youth success
As Waterlooville AFC’s first-team manager, she has already been involved in recruitment ahead of their 2026-27 season return, although the club are still waiting to learn which league they will be admitted into.
Meanwhile, she is overseeing the hunt for a first-team coach to assist her, with pre-season training scheduled to start next week.
Waterlooville have signed a three-year agreement to groundshare with AFC Portchester next season, although their friendly programme is expected to use The Cowplain School for home fixtures.
‘It’s not brave, it’s not me trying to get publicity’
Stainton added: ‘Lisa is full of confidence, she has no issue with it.
‘She’s pretty good at everything, the management of the game, tactics, coaching, player support, man-management, she is good at all of it. She is a really, really good coach and I’m confident she will do a good job for a couple of years.
‘It’s not brave, it’s not me trying to get publicity, this is a good manager. I know she will do the job and have good communication with the players.’