Watford Women head coach Clinton Lancaster is looking forward to taking on the FA Women's Championship next season but knows expectations for his team will be different.

The Golden Girls were promoted to the second tier after a successful application for upward movement and will join the likes of Sunderland, Crystal Palace and Liverpool.

While Lancaster is looking forward to taking on a new challenge he knows his side have gone from being favourites to get promoted to one of the league's underdogs.

“I’m really excited with what is ahead of us this summer,” he told the club website. “It’s going to be different preparing for a new league. We won’t be going into it as one of the favourites like we have been in the last two years. This year we’ll be the underdog.

“We’re going to have to recruit and retain the players we want and do all we can to finish as high as possible in the Championship.

“We’re so excited for next season and we can’t wait to start.”

Lancaster was thankful for the work that went into the successful application and said there were plenty of people no longer at the club that also deserved credit.

“It feels great to get the promotion,” he said. “Everybody has worked incredibly hard over the last two years, to think of all the late nights at training and the long journeys for away games.

“Everyone has done everything they can to get us in this position, on and off the pitch with the staff. A special mention has to go Grace Williams [Former General Manager] with all the work that she did.

“All the players that have been here previously from last season deserve a mention too.

“We had some great players here that aren’t here now but have contributed to this. There’s just so many people that have worked so hard on the pitch and behind the scenes to make this happen.”