Sue Smith is one of the most recognisable players in women’s football – 90 England caps and almost as many weird and wonderful hairstyles have ensured that.

And judging by the number of young girls waiting patiently for an autograph or photo with her after Lincoln’s latest WSL fixture, her popularity is showing no sign of waning.

However, the Merseyside-born winger has admitted that, for her, the game had begun to lose its magic prior to the launch of the Super League.

“The Premier League had probably started to go a little bit stale,” she said. “We needed something to freshen the game up and the WSL has done that. Every team now present a new challenge.”

Smith’s opinion that the league has shaken up the women’s game is certainly backed up by the current league table. Birmingham City sit top after an unbeaten start which has included an impressive away victory at champions Arsenal.

Even more surprising is the sight of Everton – runners up in the last five Premier League seasons and current FA Cup holders – languishing just one place off the bottom, having failed to record a single win so far.

As for Smith’s Lincoln, a late goal against Liverpool on Sunday ensured they claimed their first victory of the season and moved them above Everton in the process. The 31-year-old believes that the win will be crucial for the spirit of her side going into the second half of the season:

“We needed those three points for confidence more than anything,” she said. “It was a scrappy game, but we’ve managed to scrape the three points at the end there.”

One of the WSL’s main objectives was to attract more supporters to women’s football and, as a veteran of 15 seasons in the Women’s Premier League, Smith is encouraged by the pulling power of the Super League.

“In our first game against Doncaster Belles we were playing at Sincil Bank and we had over 800 people turn up, which was a lot more than we had ever had before,” she added. “Attendances since then have been good, although they have started to drop off a little bit. Maybe that’s something we can look at improving on for the second half of the season when we wont be competing with the men’s game.”

The increased attendances, combined with the fact that many of the international players are now able to earn a living from the game has, according to Smith, has brought about an encouraging improvement in the standard of the game.

“We are training a lot more, as players obviously that helps with improving the standard,” she said. “But it’s the whole feel of the game, games now are more like events and that makes it more exciting and special for those involved.”

Having previously played for Tranmere and Leeds at club level, Smith has also been a regular for England in an extraordinary international career which stretches back to 1997. A record of 90 caps and 16 goals, combined with appearances in major tournaments, have confirmed her position as one of England’s all-time greats, and she believes that the success of the WSL will only help the national team going forward.

“I think it will be a massive benefit to the England team,” she said. “Obviously training regularly and being more competitive on the pitch is going to help us as players when we go into a big tournament. Hopefully it will have a knock-on effect for this World Cup (to be held this summer in Germany), but maybe we’ll see the real benefits in another four years, when the league has had time to develop further.”

The hairstyles and the fanbase definately remain, and now she has her enthusiasm back, as Smith herself says, ‘exciting times’ are on the way for her and her England team-mates.