A Lioness with the will to succeed.

Byline: ANN GRIPPER

SACKED Grimsby boss Mike Newell once suggested women had no place in professional football - what a delicious irony it would be if Hope Powell became his permanent replacement.

Hope has helped transform the women's game in 11 years as manager of England, accumulating a wealth of experience along the way.

Her Three Lionesses became the first England team to play in a major final since 1966, when they finished as European Championship runners up this summer.

In fact, she's arguably the most successful England boss since Sir Alf Ramsey.

And unlike plenty of retiring male professionals who fancy stepping straight into the dugout, 42-year-old Powell gained her UEFA Pro A licence in 2003 - the first woman to do so.

Hope has credentials as a player as well, with 35 goals in 66 appearances, after making her England debut aged just 16. Her club career at Millwall Lionesses netted a hat-trick of FA Cup medals too.

Managing in the Football League would be a very different challenge to the semiprofessional world of women's football, but Powell deserves to be considered on merit.

CAPTION(S):

SEXIST OUTBURST Mike Newell