Lauren James keen to give Chelsea boss Emma Hayes final season to remember

Lauren James and Emma Hayes recently won WSL awards (Andrew Matthews/PA)

Lauren James hopes Chelsea can “achieve good things” in outgoing manager Emma Hayes’ final season in charge of the club.

Hayes announced her decision to step down in November and will become the head coach of the United States Women’s national team at the end of the campaign.

Her departure marks the end of a 12-year reign at Chelsea where she has won six Women’s Super League titles, five FA Cups and two League Cups.

James has worked with Hayes since her arrival at the club in 2021 aged 19 and she has since gone on to impress, recently earning the Barclays Player of the Month award in January after scoring five goals in two games.

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“It’s good working with Emma, our relationship is close as everyone can probably imagine,” James told the PA news agency.

“I think highly of her and hopefully we can achieve good things this year together.

“In the moment I was disappointed and it hits you, but that’s the relationship we have. It’s football and people move on, I’ll just have to focus on Chelsea.”

James’ goalscoring feats last month helped Chelsea cement their spot at the summit of the WSL, where they sit three points clear of second-placed Manchester City ahead of a huge top-of-the-table clash on Friday night.

The 22-year-old England forward scored a hat-trick in a 3-1 win against former club Manchester United before bagging a brace in the 3-0 victory against Brighton.

James scored five goals in two WSL games in January (Barclays/Chelsea WFC)

James is aiming