It’s certainly fair to say that Shauna Duffy’s start to life as manager of The New Saints has been nothing short of a dream.
Taking the reigns from Greg Draper in the summer, Duffy has led the Saints into a new era and is certainly reaping the benefits of their good form so far.
2025 Genero Adran Trophy Final
“It’s been an unbelievable journey so far. There’s still a long way to go but for us as a group and as a staffing team, we’ve overcome so many hurdles along the way already. In terms of season goals, we’ve been able to cross off quite a few already and it’s still only February.
“We’re really confident at the moment and we’re riding this journey. But we know the challenges that are still to come, and we know they’re going to be tough, especially with the game on Sunday.”
Eleven players joined the club over the summer, and with the club entering a semi-pro model, TNS are reaching new levels. As well as making good progress in cup competitions, the Saints are also battling for the Genero Adran Premier title, and Duffy wants her side to carry on with their push.
“It’s a really exciting time to be part of TNS. It’s not just exciting for us as staff and players, but it’s everyone involved; from those above us to the fans watching to the families and friends watching. It’s been an exciting journey and one where we want to keep pushing.
“We want to keep going and we want to try and make a name for ourselves. At the start of the season, it was all about making top four and anything beyond that would be a bonus. Now we’ve accomplished that, we don’t want to freeze, we want to push on.”
In terms of their run to the Adran Trophy final, a lot of attention has been put on TNS’ semi-final comeback against Briton Ferry, and rightly so.
However, another big result was beating current holders Cardiff City in the quarter-finals. Having never beaten the Bluebirds before, the victory was a big one for Duffy’s side, and it came in a very important month in terms of their development.
“Beating Cardiff City really helped us with momentum. We looked at December as a month of really tough games with Cardiff Met away and Cardiff City at home, Swansea before Christmas, so we knew it was a big month. We spoke about it as a group in terms of what going into Christmas on a high could look like, and did we expect three wins? Probably not, but when we look back on it, the togetherness was outstanding, and to knock out the holders was incredible. We went into the game with confidence, but we hadn’t been able to beat Cardiff before. Now we’ve done that, it’s instilled more belief than we’ve had previously.”
Now the Saints are one game away from writing yet another historic chapter in their history, as they take on Swansea City in the final.
Despite beating the Swans twice already this season, Duffy is still acutely aware of the challenge Jamie Sherwood’s side pose but is confident that they can upset the odds once again come Sunday.
“Sunday is going to be an incredibly hard game. Swansea are finding their groove now and they’ve gone through their own challenges just like we have. Whilst we have beaten them twice in the league, a cup final is a cup final, and anything can happen.
“They’ve got that final experience, and we haven’t, but on the flip side, we’ve beaten them twice in the league this season. In terms of a battle, we know it’s going to be tough, and we know what we’re coming up against in terms of the experience of Swansea. We know they’ll want revenge, so we have to be ready to manage that and make sure we go one further than them.”
