by Our Sports Desk

Emma Hayes is the only female manager in the Women’s Super League but can strike a blow by steering Chelsea to title glory this weekend.

Should Hayes’s team win in front of the television cameras at Manchester City tomorrow, a first WSL trophy will be secure for a team who have spent just four seasons in the top flight.

Former Chicago Red Stars head coach Hayes, brought up in Camden, north London, and a former Arsenal assistant boss, was signed up by the Blues two years ago.

This season, she finds herself standing alone amid a trend that sees Chelsea’s seven league rivals all bossed by men.

It is a situation the Football Association is slowly addressing, having imposed stringent conditions when the WSL was beefed up into a two-tier competition for the current season.

The FA demanded all managers must have the Uefa A licence and there are so few women in Britain with the qualification that an imbalance became almost inevitable.

“It’s a difficult one. You want the best coaches and the best support staff regardless of gender,” said Kelly Simmons, the FA director of the national game and women’s football.

“Emma has done a fantastic job. The game is in a transition from amateur to semi-pro and moving quite quickly to professional.

“One of our jobs is to develop female coaches and we’re very mindful of that. A new elite unit at St George’s Park has just been created for women’s football.”

Chelsea could be denied the title should they lose to City, a team in their debut top-flight season who boast England captain Steph Houghton and fellow Three Lionesses stars Toni Duggan, Jill Scott and Karen Bardsley.

Birmingham are hovering two points behind and take on Notts County, while reigning league champions Liverpool, a further point adrift but still clinging to hope, tackle Bristol Academy.

Hayes says it would be “a monumental achievement” for Chelsea to carry off the title, a year after finishing second-bottom of the eight-team league.

The 37-year-old said: “I’ve never cared about what any other team has been doing during the season and I don’t care this weekend. 

“It’s in our hands, and any manager will tell you that’s the best position to be in. I don’t want any team to do us a favour, we’ll do ourselves one.”