Siobhan Chamberlain highlights why Casey Stoney has been successful at Manchester United

Former England goalkeeper Siobhan Chamberlain has highlighted Casey Stoney's honesty and work ethic as key reasons for her rapid success at Manchester United.

Chamberlain and Stoney were teammates at Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool and roomed together on England duty for nearly a decade, before the Red Devils manager signed the goalkeeper ahead of United's maiden season as a reformed women's side.

Chamberlain was United's number one during their promotion-winning 2018/19 campaign, and in just their second season in the top flight, Stoney's side are mounting a serious title challenge.

"People often say ‘what kind of manager is she?’ Or ‘is she what you’d expect?’" Chamberlain told 90min.

"And for anyone that played with her or for anyone that watched her as a player, she’s the exact kind of manager that you’d expect. She’s got work ethic, she works ridiculously hard, she expects high standards from her players and leaves no stone unturned.

"And she’s also very honest, I think that’s something you don’t always get from managers. Players often want honesty and it’s often those difficult conversations that don’t necessarily always happen which can lead to problems further down the line.

"Casey’s always going to be honest with people because she knows as a player that’s always what she wanted and I think that’s a key part in why she’s been so successful."

Chamberlain also cited the impact of Stoney for the rapid development of Millie Turner. The defender has blossomed into one of the WSL's top centre backs under Stoney's tutelage and earned her maiden senior England call up in September.

"Millie’s a fantastic player - until she’s doing Cruyff turns on the edge of the box, which is not a dream," Chamberlain laughed. "She’s a great person as well and it often helps you if you’re a good person, you can develop a lot quicker.

"She works so hard, she’s got the right mentality, she’s got the right people around her and she’s also technically very good. To be working alongside Casey - who was obviously also a centre half - it’s developed her game massively.

"And she’s got a learning mentality as well which has helped her develop so quickly as a player and she’s definitely going to be one who’s going to be a stalwart for Manchester United moving forward."

This season BT Sport is showing more Barclays FA Women’s Super League matches than ever before. Watch Man City v Man Utd on BT Sport 2 from 6.30pm on Friday 12th February.