Aggie Beever-Jones EXCLUSIVE: Chelsea's young Lioness on dealing with increased pressure, learning from the best and striving for more in unbeaten Blues' quadruple quest

Last year was huge for Beever-Jones. After loan spells with Bristol City, in the Championship, and Everton, in the Women’s Super League, she finally got her chance in the first-team at Chelsea, the club she joined aged nine. Despite starting just six league games, the young forward bagged 11 goals, plus two more in the cups, helped the Blues win the Women's Super League and concluded her season with a first England cap. As a result, the expectation was raised around her, though it was something that she struggled to deal with at first.

“I think at the start of this season, I kind of realised what I did last year, if that makes sense, and the achievements I made,” Beever-Jones tells GOAL. “While the whole season was going on, I was almost just engulfed in it. I never really took a step back and thought, 'Oh, I've scored 13 goals for Chelsea’, which I never thought would have happened.

“I think I got to the point at the start of this season where I was in my own head a little bit about it all, going, 'Oh, I've got to match those stats from last year or beat them'. And I had the reputation of the super-sub last year, so every time I wasn't starting and I came on, I felt that I had to score.”

It was a different feeling to the start of the previous season, when Beever-Jones almost had nothing to lose. Of course, there is the pressure that comes with playing for Chelsea and the pressure that anyone representing the club puts on themselves to perform. But she was a young player looking to break through; the expectation was more on the experienced heads around her.

How, then, did she shake that growing weight off her shoulders this year? “I think it was just almost taking a step back and just relieving that pressure,” Beever-Jones says. “I only put the pressure on myself because I knew what I was capable of and sometimes, inevitably, you do overthink some things. For me, scoring the West Ham goal [in January] was nice, because I felt it was almost a bit of, 'Oh, you still got it'. Sometimes when you get a few games where maybe you haven't scored or you haven't had your best performances, to get a goal back is always a nice little pick you up, almost.

“Sometimes it is just taking a step back and talking - I have such a great support network around me - and trusting those people, that they can help me out. I've been extremely lucky. For me, football is such a confidence sport. I think when you're confident and you have people that you can rely on that can really help you get out of those little ruts... I'm in a good place now and I think it's just continuing that, managing my expectations, managing disappointment, in terms of, if I've made a mistake, how do I react to that? I think that's definitely something that I've improved on massively and that has helped me out.

“I'm in a good place mentally now where it is just making sure I go out onto that pitch and I make the people happy that I need to make happy. I work hard, create things for the team, whether that's scoring or assisting, which is obviously a great bonus, but for me, it is just playing well. I think that's the main thing, focusing on my performance, and everything else will fall into place.”

Things have been falling into place, too. Beever-Jones is becoming a more regular starter for her childhood club and has been included in every England squad since last May. Aiding her ability to compete for spots in two extremely talented sides is her admirable versatility, which has seen her deployed on the right wing, left wing, as a centre-forward and even in the No.10 role this season.

“I think it is just trusting my own ability and what I know in each position and being able to add my own unique bit of flair to it,” she says. “I definitely have developed that side of my game.

“I know, being at Chelsea, it's never straightforward. You have different personnel for different positions, different connections. One that springs to mind is Lauren James. When she plays on the wing, she inverts a lot more, which allows Sandy [Baltimore] or me to get around. So I think it is just creating the connections and I think at Chelsea, we're such a team, we're a team who rotate as well, so it is just managing the rotations and maybe falling out into a different position than usual.”

Fortunately for the 21-year-old, she is surrounded by knowledgeable people who can share nuggets of information to help her adjust, adapt and thrive. Among those are the likes of Sam Kerr, Mia Fishel and Mayra Ramirez, Chelsea’s trio of “world-class” centre-forwards who are teaching Beever-Jones about a role she has needed to understand more in recent times, or the coaching duo of Bompastor and assistant Camille Abily, who have enjoyed the highest of highs both on the pitch and in the dugout.

“For me, it is just making sure I have a good relationship with Sonia off the pitch and then trusting what she needs from me on the pitch,” the Chelsea star believes. “I think she's really helped me with some finer details. Cami as well. I really respect Cami. I think she's technically such a good coach. I know she tells me little details that sometimes might not even be that recognisable, but it's the finer margins which make you a bit different from everyone else.

"They're both so talented as coaches and I feel extremely lucky to be able to work with both of them, and I can see my game is developing. It's always nice to feel that you're developing. I'm still quite young, a 21-year-old at one of the best clubs. Sometimes it is a bit of a 'pinch me' moment. But I am really enjoying it and I think it is just not being so hard on myself and making the right people happy.”

It's those finer details which Beever-Jones believes could make the difference as the business end of the season approaches. On Saturday, Chelsea will face Manchester City in the League Cup final, as the first piece of silverware for the campaign is handed out. It is also the first of four meetings in 12 days with the Cityzens, ahead of an all-English Champions League quarter-final and a blockbuster WSL clash. That’s one of Chelsea’s biggest games in the title run-in, with them in pole position to win a sixth-successive title, and there is an FA Cup semi-final against Liverpool sprinkled in for good measure, too.

As she prepares to be more involved than ever in the busiest period of Chelsea’s season, and talks about wanting to contribute however she can, perhaps what shines through the most is that Beever-Jones has the mental approach needed for these next two months.

It takes something special to be part of this team, one that has become the dominant force in English women’s football over the past five years, and as Beever-Jones talks about being “proud” of the unbeaten streak under Bompastor but frustrated by the four points they have dropped, it’s clear she has it. “We're always looking to improve,” she says. “Even if we're winning games, we're still looking for the final piece of the puzzle.”

While Chelsea are not taking this incredible unbeaten run, which now stands at 27 games, for granted, their talented academy product is keen not to let her growing status in the team lose any of its shine, either. “For me, it is being on the pitch and being able to show what I can do regardless of what position I am and just making sure I'm ready, whether I'm starting or not,” she adds. “I'm just happy to be able to play for Chelsea and contribute in the ways I can.”