Keira Flannery is reaping the rewards of regular first team football.
The 17-year-old midfielder joined FA Women's National League South side Gillingham Women alongside teammate Halle Houssein on dual-registration terms at the beginning of February, as the duo went in search of competitive minutes.
Both had seen action for the Hammers during the 2022/23 campaign before making the move across the Thames to Kent – with Flannery in particular appearing six times in all competitions, which included her first start in a Player of the Match winning performance against Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Vitality Women’s FA Cup at the end of January.
The dual-registration terms have also allowed the pair to continue to train with West Ham, whilst experiencing the benefits that playing time gives to players at such a young age.
The move to Gillingham, who currently sit sixth in the third tier has allowed Flannery to experience a different type of opposition, and it’s something that she is enjoying greatly.
“It’s been really good to go over to Gillingham,” Flannery told whufc.com.
“All of the girls over there have been really welcoming, the coach has been lovely to work with and to be able to get minutes against other women’s teams and to show what I can do and showcase my potential, it’s been great so far.
“The majority of the players that I’m coming up against are all older than me and have been playing football at this level for a long time. I’m playing against people that are stronger and quicker than me. It’s just adapting to who I’m playing against and then it will allow me to improve even more when I come back to West Ham and experience WSL opposition.”
“I’m getting help from even more coaches than everyone else. I’m getting progress points and improvement points from Gillingham, which can only be a good thing."
Flannery has played five times since making the move at the beginning of February – three of those have been starts that have all come in the Gills’ last four games. In two of those matches, Flannery has come away with the Clubs Player of the Match award.
She found the back of the net for the first time in Red and Black in a 1-1 draw with Billericay and is hoping to be able to build on those recent performances between now and the end of the season.
“I think I’ve made a good start to life there,” Flannery said. “There’s a massive step up from academy football going into the third tier, you can really see a difference in the level. Then you come into training, you work hard, and you don’t feel like you’ve lost anything, it’s competitive all the time at Gillingham.
“I went in there to just show what I can do, it allows me to just go and play my own game, because it’s not playing in the WSL, but it is still a good level.
“Having the experience of going over to Gillingham has helped me a lot and I feel like it’s making me a better player for it."
Flannery swapped north London for east London last summer when the midfielder decided to leave Arsenal and join West Ham United, the team that she supports.
Having already spent time adapting to one new team, the midfielder found the transition at Gills easy.
“It was a good experience joining West Ham in the summer, so I was confident I’d fit in with Gillingham – as I said, they have a really good group over there.
“I think whenever you move somewhere new, there are always going to be some doubts because you never know quite how it’s going to go – but the transition was good, and I was able to take everything in my stride.
“The main thing I’ve learnt since being with them is that minutes are crucial for a young player like me. I’m not used to playing as regularly as I have been with them, so I’ve been able to learn about managing fatigue, whilst also coming back to West Ham and making sure that I’m training to the best of my ability.
“I can slowly feel my body adapting to the demands, and It’s definitely making me a stronger, more rounded player. I really can’t wait to finish off the season with them, and hopefully we can continue to climb the table,” Flannery concluded.
