Trevor Jenkins, general manager of the women’s squads at the West Country club, believes the Island teenager could make the step up from academy level more regularly in the coming months, following her appearance on the bench for Yeovil’s top-flight fixture against Liverpool earlier in January.
Wood is currently juggling college studies with on-field academy commitments, as well as taking part in sessions with the first-team’s professionals.
‘Megan has been going really well … she’s certainly a player we’re hopeful of in terms of her progression,’ said Jenkins.
‘She got a call-up against Liverpool but the circumstances of the game meant she didn’t get on the pitch. But she’s young, and who knows what the future holds for her.
‘Our current academy group are new and quite young, but we’re already highlighting individuals and saying whether they’re ready now or will be ready in a short space of time.
‘To be a top performing player in the Women’s Super League you need to have strengths technically, physically, psychologically and socially.
‘Megan has definitely got the technical side, there’s no doubt about that – she’s a very gifted player. Physically, she’s got the majority of that, the difference being top-flight strength and power, which we’ll work on with her. The tactical element of top-flight football is something she’ll grasp in time, and socially – she’s not afraid to mix in and be around it all.
‘If you look at all of that, it’s a promising prospect. It’s just down to her and how hard she continues to work.’
Having won just won once in their opening 13 games Yeovil currently sit bottom of the WSL, at risk of relegation to the Women’s Championship. They are only two points off Everton – and safety – but the effect of demotion has already been considered and is unlikely to affect Wood’s dreams of playing full-time football.
‘We had Katie Brazier, the head of women’s football, and Baroness Sue Campbell [Women’s FA chief] here recently and they were pretty blown away by what we’ve got here,’ Jenkins explained.
‘They reassured us that if we do go down they’d still want to see us in place for another five years … if we don’t get promoted back into the WSL. Our location helps with that, because there is a massive gap in terms of geography for talented players in this area.’
