The New York City FC boss joined his successor Gareth Taylor and co-hosts Karen Bardsley and George Kelsey on a special episode of the official Man City podcast looking back at the last 10 years of the Club.
Cushing was in charge for seven years at City winning the WSL title in 2016 as well as lifting the FA Cup and League Cup during his time at the Club.
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Former goalkeeper Bardsley is now Girls Academy manager and Cushing says that the standard of young player is better than ever.
And he is proud at how the league has developed although he says it makes Taylor’s job harder to bring success to the Joie Stadium.
“One of my reflections is that the game is different now,” he said. “The game is far more developed and far more difficult that it was when I started in 2014.
“The level of player and the standard of teams has really improved.
“When I look across the league, you can drop points against a very good Aston Villa team, Tottenham beat Arsenal, Liverpool beat Manchester United.
“That is very good for the game – it just makes the job more difficult, one for Gareth and also for KB because the players she has to produce have to be of the level to play the game now. In 2014, the pool was far smaller.
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“When I was the head coach I thought it was difficult because we lost players to the United States and to clubs like Lyon, now all of those want to come and play in our league.
“This is amazing and means players have to be developed to a far higher standard physically, technically, tactically, socially.”
Taylor too is proud how the women’s game has grown and delighted that it is getting greater exposure.
Bardsley has also seen plenty of change over the last decade and is excited by the opportunity to be able to give youngsters at the Academy the chance to reach as high a standard as they can.
“For me to represent Man City in this role is something I’m incredibly grateful for, not just as a player but now in a role with a bit more influence,” she said.
“Ultimately I want the players that come into the Academy to have the best opportunity that they can have to achieve their fullest potential.
“To develop as a human being and to have life skills for your career and post. We’ve seen what City have done with the boys Academy and the men’s and women’s first teams and for me it’s about pushing excellence.
“I want to win trophies and to get these girls prepared for first team football. I’d like it to be at the top level whether it’s the first team or Champions League level and preparing them for international representation.
“But there’s also a lot of things I hope they don’t experience and we approach it from a more holistic perspective because that’s really important.”
The new edition of the Official Man City podcast, featuring Nick Cushing and Gareth Taylor will be released today at 14:00 (UK).
