Martin Herdman knew the size of the statement as soon as he’d made it.

“I told myself not to mention Kevin Keegan,” he said, as he walked through the corridors at Wroxham’s Trafford Park, dissecting his first interview as Norwich City Women’s head coach with the Pink Un.

There was an element of shock that he’d referenced Keegan's and Bobby Robson’s football when asked what style he’d bring to the Canaries’ fourth-tier side. But after just seconds of passionately discussing his north-eastern footballing heritage, it made perfect sense.

"My upbringing would have been watching the Kevin Keegan days and the Bobby Robson days, so there's a little bit of attacking football, a little bit of compassion," he said. "Up in Newcastle you walk around and everyone's in black and white shirts.

"To see people walking around in Norwich shirts shows how much it means to the city. Norwich is going to be a perfect fit for me, and it's like a second home.

"We want to dominate the ball, and love the ball. You'll hopefully see us controlling the ball a bit more, but when we don't have it you're going to hear me barking orders.

"You're going to see high pressure. We're going to be fit, strong and fast. We're going to be an adaptable team, who wants to attack and get numbers towards the box."

Herdman’s appointment is part of the assault on promotion the women’s side have made this summer, with his appointment coming on the same day as six new signings were announced and another played for the first time in yellow and green.

He started the interview by refusing to reference the “p-word”, but couldn’t hold off for long.

"We want to be challenging," he said. "We genuinely feel that we can. AFC Wimbledon finished on 45 points and +30-odd goal difference (last season). We finished on 31 and a -2. We've got a lot of making up to do.

The Pink Un: City's women finished fourth in the league last season.City's women finished fourth in the league last season. (Image: Angela Sharpe)

"But we genuinely feel that we can. They drew 1-1 with us and only snuck a 1-0 win, so the gap (isn't too big). There'll be ourselves, Wimbledon and a couple of others who will be thinking they can push all the way.

"We want to get promoted, obviously."

The road to get to Herdman may have been a long one, but City are sure they’ve got the right man. They embarked on the recruitment process in May, and general manager Flo Allen worked with sporting director Stuart Webber throughout the process.

Allen is regarded with as much excitement as any young prospect at the club, and she’s left an impression on her new head coach as they embark on their next steps to level up the women’s side.

“Flo’s been different class since day one,” he continued. “That’s one of the big reasons I came, because I’m very much a coach who wants and needs positive relationships.

"She's been brilliant in terms of clarity. She understands what I want to do, and understands where the club want to go. I'm on board, and I'm going to give it everything to try and achieve that.

"We had a lovely little Nando's today as we walked through town, so it was a nice introduction. I've had a busy day - I missed breakfast and dinner, and she said: 'We need to get you some food!'

"Even those little things really mean a lot. My baby boy's now got a Norwich kit. Just little gestures like that mean a hell of a lot to me and the family."

City's status as a family club alines well with Herdman's own personality, but he's also a man who recognises that he's got a job to do.

It was only in a referees' room at Wroxham, but Herdman is making an impact on the perception of his side already.

Matching the success of Keegan and Robson will be a difficult task, but he's already matching their ambition.