Brenden Petty reports from Kedleston Road
It was a cold, gloomy October afternoon at the Kedleston Road Sports Centre but at a small table just behind reception, there was a rare ray of sunshine for the time of year. Michael Noon, the newly appointed manager of Derby University’s Women’s firsts, sat beaming as he told of his team’s desire to win promotion this season.
“We’ve set ourselves a common goal that they’ve all bought into. We want to win every game; we want to get promoted,” he said.
Today’s BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport) opener against Warwick Women’s firsts at the Sports Centre is only one fixture in a long Midlands 2B campaign, but for a side relegated last season, it represents something much bigger. A fresh start. A clean slate. The first step on a journey they hope ends with an immediate return to the elite division.
“They’re all a lot more focused, a lot more driven,” said Noon. “I think they’re all a little bit upset by the fact that they got relegated last year.”
That disappointment now fuels a squad united by a common purpose. Training sessions have taken on greater intensity, and expectation hangs in the air ahead of Warwick’s visit.
“Hopefully we can win the league, get promoted and go back where we want to be,” he said. “The university want the women’s team back in the division they were in last year.”
Ambition has followed Noon throughout his coaching career.
The 34-year-old Derby-born manager first stepped into women’s football at Chesterfield Ladies, beginning with the club’s under-15 side before climbing the ranks. What followed was a trophy-laden spell that transformed both his reputation and the fortunes of the club.
“We got two promotions in that time,” he said. “We took them from the seventh tier of women’s football to the fifth tier.”
Those promotions were accompanied by silverware. Lots of it.
Like a collector filling a cabinet, Noon amassed five trophies in five years, including a remarkable quadruple-winning campaign and the Derbyshire Cup in his final season.
“We won four cups there as well,” he said. “Five trophies in five years, which was quite good.
“The last season before I left, one of those trophies was the Derbyshire Cup, so you can say we were the best women’s team in Derbyshire.”
His success at Chesterfield eventually opened the door to a move he could scarcely refuse. For a lifelong Derby County supporter who held a season ticket until the age of 18, being given the chance to join the Rams in 2023 carried special significance.
“I’m a Derby County fan, so the fact that I got offered the opportunity to come and be the women’s academy manager was really exciting,” he said.
Since arriving at the club, Noon has overseen a unified pathway stretching from under-nines to under-21s, while also helping young players progress into senior football.
“In my time here, we’ve probably had seven or eight that have progressed into the first team,” he said. “To then see them go and play in the women’s first team, it makes you really proud.”
Yet it is not medals or career milestones that define Noon’s approach. Instead, his philosophy revolves around understanding people.
“The biggest difference is with a boy, if you say run to that tree and back, they’ll just run to the tree and back,” he said with a smile.
“Whereas with a girl, if you explain why they’re running to the tree and back, they’ll do it.”
It is a deceptively simple idea, but one which lies at the heart of his coaching. Buy-in before instruction. Understanding before expectation.
“When I’m building a team or coaching a team, if I fully get the girls invested in what we’re doing and why we’re doing it, you get the buy-in a lot more,” he said.
That relationship extends beyond football.
“My approach is that I treat everyone as I would like to be treated,” he said. “I genuinely care about all the girls. I get to know them, their families and what makes them tick.
“I think they just run that little one per cent harder because they know that you care about them.”
Many of the players now representing Derby University have already crossed paths with Noon through Derby County’s Football Talent Pathway (FTP), creating a bond built over years rather than months.
“Some of these I’ve known since they were 12 or 13 years of age,” he said. “Now they’ve come to university, and I’ve got them back. It’s come full circle.”
It is that sense of trust, togetherness and shared purpose that Noon hopes can drive his side forward this season.
Ahead of today’s kick-off, excitement is beginning to build. Warwick provide the first obstacle, but Noon believes his side are ready.
“We think we’ve got a good team together this week,” he said. “We’re going to apply ourselves in the right way and hopefully we’ll get off to a good start, get three points and then kick on from there.”
As Noon headed outside for the final training session on Monday afternoon, the clouds continued to cling stubbornly to the Derby skyline, casting shadows across Kedleston Road. But the belief in his new team was brighter. Promotion and possibility dominated the discussion.
If Derby University’s Women’s firsts can turn that optimism into results, then this meeting with Warwick may prove to be more than just the opening game of a new season. It could be the moment those grey skies begin to clear, allowing the light of the first division to break through once again.
