The unlikely 'Pompey lass' offering inspiration to Blues head coach Danny Cowley

And the Blues head coach has outlined his desire to tap into the experience of the two-time World Cup winner while at Pompey

Cowley explained how learning about Ellis’ story had offered the 42-year-old motivation as he soaked up her philosophies, which has delivered such success for USA’s women’s team.

Ellis was born in Cowplain, spent the early part of her life in and around the city and regards herself as a ‘Pompey lass’.

The 54-year-old has ties with the Eisner family as a director for Topps, which was valued at $1.3bn this week as it went public.

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And Cowley has every intention of using those Pompey links to tap into the thinking of one of the sport’s most successful coaches.

He said: ‘There’s a documentary called The Playbook, where they followed elite coaches and their journeys.

‘Jill talked about being a mountaineer and climbing a mountain with the United States women’s team.

‘She said the reason the air is so thin when you get to the top of the mountain is because you’re not supposed to stay there.

‘You’re meant to look around, enjoy the sight and then find the next mountain to climb. I like that.

‘People in the club know her, so I’m definitely going to try to pick up a Zoom call at some point.

‘It would be great to talk to her about her journey and pick her brains.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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