Newcastle Jets goalkeeper Claire Coelho has signed on for her ninth W-League season

The Jets announced the re-signing of Coelho and striker Sophie Harding on Monday, taking the number of players confirmed for Newcastle's 2021-22 campaign to six as Wilson moves swiftly to assemble a squad she hopes will push for a finals position.

It will be the goalkeeper's ninth W-League campaign with Newcastle.

"In the past two seasons, Claire has had some really solid performances that have shown that she is capable of holding that No.1 spot," Wilson told the Newcastle Herald.

"I'm expecting her to keep pushing and to keep trying to establish herself even more in the competition as one of the leading goalkeepers. That would be my expectation of her and I think that she has those expectations of herself.

"We've had her involved with the Jets Academy under-16 boys' team throughout this winter season to make sure that she's continuing to stay sharp and continuing to be worked at that level so that she is as prepared as she can be going into pre-season."

After making only 10 appearances in her first six seasons with the Jets, seven which came in her second campaign, Coelho has been Newcastle's first-choice goalkeeper for the past two seasons.

But being benched in round seven of last campaign proved somewhat of a turning point.

"Last season was a very up and down one for me," Coelho said. "I didn't start out too well and wasn't in the best of form. But, after getting dropped and coming back into the squad, I started to find that form and in those last three or four games I pulled off some flukes and saves. That's the consistency that I want to be coming into this season with.

"I was really disappointed because it was nobody's fault but mine and I had worked so hard in the six seasons prior to become the starting keeper only to let myself down.

"In goalkeeping, if you give that other keeper one opportunity, you may not get a sniff again. It was something that I thought if I'm going to be working full-time and then playing soccer I need to make sure I'm doing everything possible not to be sitting on a bench again."

Coelho, who works full-time as a criminal defence lawyer, battled chronic tonsillitis throughout last season and is feeling the benefits of having a tonsillectomy in April.

"It feels a bit like a fresh start," Coelho said.

"After last season and having this surgery I feel as though I've got unfinished business. That's personally and for the club as well.

"The results we had and some of my performances were good and bad. Last season left a bit of a sour taste in our mouths with sometimes how close we were in games and sometimes it was our own errors that really cost us."

Coelho felt she was returning to form with North West Sydney in the NSW National Premier League Women's before the Sydney competition was abandoned due to the coronavirus lockdown in NSW.

"I felt good playing, really fit," she said.

"At the moment I am just doing some weights as much as I can and mainly just trying to get air in the lungs so I can try and be ready as much as possible for pre-season."

The W-League season is scheduled to start on November 13 with Wilson aiming to commence pre-season on October 4.

The club has already re-signed co-captains Cassidy Davis and Gema Simon as well as long-serving players Tara Andrews and Hannah Brewer.

"It's getting down to the final touches, the final pieces of the puzzle," Wilson said.

"We're being really meticulous about what we want and just making sure that we get the right combinations and the right people who are going to be able to execute the brand of football that we want to play.

"COVID is not making it easy ... but we're doing our due diligence with player recruitment to make sure that we have a competitive team that's pushing for finals and beyond."

The Jets finished last season in second-last place after two wins, one draw and nine losses from 12 outings.

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