Nominated alongside World Cup and Champions League winners in FIFA’s ‘The Best’ Women’s Goalkeepers category, the shot-stopper has earned deserved recognition for her impressive 2019/20 campaign.
In Karen Bardsley‘s absence, the Sheffield-born star thrived on the responsibility, cementing her place between the sticks and claiming the FA Women’s Super League’s Golden Glove award.
One of the most exciting young ‘keepers in the country, Roebuck continues to push Bardsley for the number one spot and is now also a regular for her country.
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With only one place up for grabs and the level of quality waiting in the wings, Roebuck says she doesn’t need any added motivation to remain at the top of her game.
“My aims are: to play for City and to play for England,” she declared.
“That’s enough motivation in itself - having that competition in training and knowing who is ready to take your place.
“In terms of self-motivation, I won the Golden Glove last season and I want to keep that title.
“From that point of view, motivation is always there and it’s all positive - I don’t take anything as a negative.
“Last year was a really good year for me. This year, it’s not that I haven’t started the way I’d want to but the results haven’t gone our way.
“As a goalkeeper, when you play in a team like City, who dominate the ball and look to attack, you don’t necessarily have the same opportunities to show what you’re about as much.
“There aren’t as many opportunities to impact the game - but that’s a good thing overall!
“From my point of view, things are only going to get better. I’m working hard, doing the things I need to do on a day-to-day basis at the same level as last year, if not better.
“It’s about replicating that on the pitch, pushing forward and hopefully, getting even better.”
With the appointment of a new manager for the 2020/21 season, there has also been the introduction of a new playing style for City.
While Roebuck admits it has taken time for the squad to adapt, the shot-stopper asserts Gareth Taylor‘s philosophy suits her down to the ground.
“For us, we’ve always known it’s working,” she explained. “We trusted in the process and trusted in Gaz.
“He’s been brilliant and really refreshing. He’s brought in new ideas to the great work Nick Cushing did.
“Nick was unbelievable but Gaz has freshened things up.
“We know there have been some hiccups early on in the season but the league is getting stronger so naturally, results like that are going to happen.
“For me personally, his style suits my game and how I want to play: playing out from the back.
“I’m not sure the fans like it - they get nervous when we do it!
“For me though, it’s great. Nick introduced me to that style from the start and I think my background of playing outfield has benefitted that.
“In my first year, that helped me to settle into the team. Nick put a lot of trust in me and Gaz has really instilled that.
“I’m happy we play the way we play. It shows Gaz has faith in us to do it but he’s also really supportive in the fact he admits it’s on him as well as us.
“We all believe in the style and the principles and we’ve shown that when it works, it’s brilliant.
“I’d love for us to score a goal where we’ve started the attack from the other end. That would mean a lot.
“We’re building week by week, getting stronger. We need to get those clean sheets racking up.
“At the end of the day, if we keep the ball out at this end, we have a great chance of winning because we have the firepower up top to put it away.
“Overall, it’s nice to have the responsibility and it’s something I want to continue working on and develop.
“Potentially, it could be something in my game I can be really good at.”
