Hampton: 'Blue is definitely my colour'

She is dedicated loyal to Chelsea. She is the goalkeeper for Chelsea, Hannah Hampton.

The 23-year-old came back to Cobham last week ready to start as we kicked off our pre-season training. It was hard to miss that she was wearing a copy of our 1998 home shirt.

Hampton believes that it's up to the loyal Blues fans to determine if she truly represents Proper Chels. As the England player clarifies, she was simply sticking with a style that had proven successful for her during the summer.

"I'm feeling down all the way," she explained. "I was hoping to wear my vintage shirt on the first day of pre-season. If not then, when could I wear it?"

I brought it with me on vacation and wore it while exploring the streets of Spain, the streets of Crete, and everywhere else! I adore it. Blue suits me perfectly.

After finishing the first week of pre-season training, Hampton is thrilled to be reunited with her Chelsea teammates whom she shared many accomplishments with during her first season.

Hampton, who has now won the Women's Super League, is excited to return to work. She adds some humor and jokes to the serious training sessions on the field.

"I was thrilled to be reunited with everyone," she says. "It's not as enjoyable to do your pre-season training alone at home."

When you walk in and see all the people, it gives you a boost of motivation to keep going. Being with everyone, you can see how united we already are, even just from a week ago.

I enjoy returning and reuniting with everyone. I like to come in, chat and share some jokes with people, and make sure everyone is having a good time. It's great to lighten the mood and make everyone feel comfortable!

Hampton is a person who has always been ambitious, always pushing herself to do her best. This pre-season, she continues to aim for excellence and sets high standards for herself.

With the addition of new head coach Sonia Bompastor leading the way, the goalkeeper is even more motivated to elevate her game.

'The talks I've had with Sonia, Cammi [Abily], and Theo [Rivrin] up to now - you can tell they have high expectations, so that resonates with my own feelings,' Hampton remarked. 'It motivates me to improve and it will inspire everyone on the team to improve as well.'

You want to start strong and showcase your abilities. I want to concentrate on my own performance, follow the game plan set by Sonia, and strengthen my bonds with the team during matches.

If being in a good position makes me happy, then I'm happy. I just want to have fun with what I do. I've always believed that I perform best when I'm having a good time.

Hampton, along with Bompastor, Abily, and Rivrin, are recent additions to Chelsea's coaching team. She has been training with the new goalkeeping coach Seb Brown and his assistant Dan Smith.

Smith is a recent addition to the club, but Brown has been familiar to Hampton for some time. Brown made the move to the women's team on a full-time basis after spending time with the WSL academy. During this time, he also helped former coach Stuart Searle.

"Seb is fantastic," Hampton stated. "He was part of our team last year and has now taken on the role of our head goalkeeper coach."

I collaborated closely with him last year, particularly in the initial four months when I wasn't as active in the team. I was making progress with Seb alongside me during that time, so we have a strong rapport.

Dan is a valuable addition to our team of goalkeepers, thanks to his experience. He has already settled in nicely and we've shared some good laughs together.

"We are all motivating each other to strive for excellence and supporting one another in making progress."

Hampton and the rest of the team will display their efforts under Bompastor and the new coaching staff during our pre-season trip to the US.

Our new coach's debut game will be against NJ/NY Gotham at the Red Bull Arena, followed by a match against Arsenal in Washington DC, bringing our London rivalry to the United States.

Hampton mentioned that it would be a great opportunity for us to put our playing style into action. These two games will help us become more familiar with each other.

We are able to establish strong connections with our opponents in the upcoming matches. Facing tough teams will be a challenge, but it will ultimately benefit us and push us in the right direction to prepare us for the start of the season.