Sarina Wiegman has revealed she was not surprised that her former player and Lioness Jill Scott won I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out of Here last month.
The England boss, who led the the squad to their first major international title last summer at the Euros, also admitted that the players were requesting changes to their training camp schedule to see Scott in action on the hit reality show. The former Lioness beat Conservative politician Matt Hancock and actor Owen Warner in the final with 57 per cent of the public vote, only a few months after retiring from the game.
In an interview with BBC Sport Wiegman said the squad were keen to keep up with Scott's progress in the jungle and revealed she expected that the former midfielder proved such a hit with the viewing public. The Dutch coach was unaware of what the show before, but was quickly brought up to speed by her squad during November's international break.
"I didn't know anything about it (at first)," Wiegman told the BBC. "Obviously the players then told me. They asked if they could slightly change the daily schedule when were at the training camp, because 'we want to see Jill.
"That was really funny. I could follow a little bit from the social media which was nice.
"Jill is Jill and she is an amazing personality, so I'm not surprised that she won it."
Reflecting on a remarkable 2022 Wiegman stated that England's win in the summer had already had a huge impact on the women's game. The Dutchwoman, who won Euro 2017 with the Netherlands, explained that England's win had increased the demands on her but that she remained focus on improving the team.
England are let to lose a game since she took charge, completing an unbeaten 2022 with a 1-1 draw against Norway last month. They will fly out to Australia next summer as one of the favourites for the FIFA Women's World Cup as Wiegman looks to lead her side to back-to-back titles.
"I get recognised a lot more for sure," she said. "Especially around games and sometimes I need a little help to get out the crowds.
"The impact these Euros have had in England, and beyond, is so much more than when we won in 2017 with Netherlands, which was not expected. So the world around me has changed a little bit, people want a lot of things from me. I can't do lots of them, only do a couple of things.
"I have a big job to do, expectations are really high and things have changed a little bit but my focus is still on my job."
Wiegman was speaking ahead of the BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2022 ceremony, where Beth Mead is odds-on favourite to claim to main prize. Wiegman may very well also receive an award in the Coach of the Year category, won by the men's boss Gareth Southgate last year, although the shortlist for that is yet to be revealed.
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