Fowler a better person and player for experiences at Manchester City | OneFootball

Manchester City forward Mary Fowler says that her experiences during her time at the club have made her both a better person and a better player.

The 21-year-old Australian international has had to bide her time for playing opportunities throughout her career at The Joie Stadium. Fowler is now finally enjoying a run of games with the player being a member of a three-pronged attack alongside Lauren Hemp and Khadija Shaw.

When speaking in an interview with Football Australia, Fowler said that she is enjoying her spell at Manchester City and that the tougher times have made her a better person and a better player.

“It has been good,” Fowler said. “I like living in the city and I really like my teammates. It has been a change for me in the sense of not being able to play as much as I’d hoped for but that’s football and to see how it has shaped me as a person has been nice. I’ve really enjoyed being there and I feel that it has made me a better player.

“Now that I have the chance to start and play, I do see how much more prepared and matured I am as a player right now compared to last season when I was getting less minutes.

“Overall, it has been a nice part of my journey and a chapter where I have grown quite a bit as a person and player.”

Reflecting on her previous wait for regular minutes, Fowler said that it was important to continue to give her all in training. Continually setting her own standards high has resulted in her being ready when called upon by club and country.

She said “It was important to always try my best in training at club. I always felt like even if I wasn’t playing, I was deserving of it and I was still able to be at that level; I wasn’t on the bench because I was performing any less than those that were starting.

“The belief from myself was very much there, so coming into national team, I still thought very positively about myself and about my abilities on the field.

“When I got the opportunity to get on the field and play again, it just seemed like nothing had really changed because I was training how I would play. It didn’t feel like I needed any luck out there, it was about building on that consistency.”

Fowler has now started the last four matches for Manchester City and the player admits that being able to contribute to the team is a good feeling.

“When you’re playing more regularly, it is always going to boost your mood,” she said. “That’s what you want to be doing, helping the team as much as you can by actually being on the field. Having the chance to do that has been really nice.

“I’m someone who likes doing things with people around me who I really care about. To be able to play alongside one of my best friends [Kerstin Casparij] has been really enjoyable for me.”

Fowler could feature for Australia in their international friendly with Mexico in the early hours of tomorrow morning before returning to club football with Manchester City.