Lauren Smith making mark at Bristol City Women - with Nigel Pearson's backing

Lauren Smith is making a mark in management, with her Bristol City side aiming to move closer to a Women's Super League (WSL) return in their top-of-the-table game at London City Lionesses on Sunday.

If Welshwoman Smith, 34, needs a second opinion as the Women's Championship promotion race reaches a climax, she only has to walk across the corridor.

Bristol City Women share a training ground with the Robins' men's team.

There are two doors marked manager's office, with Smith in one and Nigel Pearson the other.

Pearson, 59, played top-flight football in his days as a defender at Sheffield Wednesday and Middlesbrough, and has been working in coaching or management since the late 1990s.

When former Wales assistant boss Smith was named head coach of Bristol City Women in June 2021, Pearson - who took charge at Ashton Gate in February 2021 - offered a warm welcome.

"He was actually the biggest shock when I walked through the door and had the first conversation with him," says Smith, who was born in brought up in Newtown.

"He just said 'you're a first team, I'm a first team, so don't come with anything else - we are the first teams of this club, that's it, no arguments that is it'.

"From that point it could have just been words, but he put it into action straight away."

Smith's side did not train at Bristol City's training ground when she arrived and says former Leicester City boss Pearson had a role in ensuring that changed.

"He was really instrumental in part of that and just made it very clear, saying 'why wouldn't you be here">