Following the news of a new contract, Mukandi joined up with her Royals teammates during the summer to take part in pre-season.

Now with the Royals’ season opener against Manchester United right around the corner, the skipper shares her thoughts on being given the armband and the mood around the camp.

“I was raring for pre-season to begin, I was excited to be back, and these first few weeks with the girls have been amazing.

“There has been so much improvement, just in the facilities, development of the players, and some of the new faces that have joined this summer, they've all got some exceptional qualities. We’ve all worked really hard this pre-season, taking in what Kelly has expected of us, to be as prepared as we can be for the season.

“Obviously I know the expectations Kelly has of me, and what she wants from a captain. I was really shocked when she came to me, but I felt really privileged to be trust and be given this opportunity.

“I just want to be a positive role model for the girls, and hopefully just play my best every single week. It all starts with bringing a good attitude to training, ensuring you are training hard every day. There are times when I have to leave for nursery, but that’s why it’s important for me to keep really high standards when I am in training.

“But this opportunity Kelly has given me is amazing, and I would have never said no.

“The feeling in camp right now is just an excitement and eagerness to get the season started. We’ve all worked really hard throughout pre-season, ready for this moment, and we cannot let ourselves down.

“We know it’ll be tough, we’re coming up against a top side, with a noisy atmosphere, so there will be plenty of challenges to overcome, but I’m confident in my girls. We’ll be hungry, competitive throughout, and give ourselves opportunities.

“Sitting here looking back from the start of pre-season, to now, in the last few weeks you can feel things are coming together, starting to click for us, and we’re all so ready to get going and I think it’s going to be a good year for us.”

Mukandi | “I’m the happiest I’ve ever been…we’re ready to get going!”