John Salomon believes a brighter future is on the horizon for Watford Ladies after signing off as manager with a goalless draw against London Bees in the Golden Girls' final Women’s Super League 2 match of the campaign on Sunday.

The club’s former first-team and general manager took up a new post with the FA’s elite women’s coaching unit on Monday, but he is optimistic better times lay ahead after a difficult season on the pitch which saw the Lady Hornets finish bottom of WSL2 after only recording one league victory.

Salomon wouldn’t go into specifics after the game, but when asked to give an insight into the club’s future said: “It’s good for everyone to just keep an eye on what’s going on at the club. For supporters, for players, for staff I think they’ll notice some changes next season that are really going to help move this club forward.

“It’s something we’ve been looking at for a while now and I think it’s taken the first two years in the Super League for us to really get a picture of what the league’s about and what’s required to be competitive at this level but there’s some really good things coming up for the club.”

The 30-year-old had been at the club for more than seven years in various capacities and he was delighted with the passion and commitment shown by his charges on Sunday – “that’s the best I’ve seen them this season” – after they were twice denied a potential winning goal by the woodwork.

Captain Megan Wynne saw an angled effort pushed onto the bar by the Bees goalkeeper at the end of the first half, while a post denied Josie Green a stunning goal from at least 30 yards after the break.

The draw gave Watford only a fifth league point of the campaign and asked why this season had been disappointment, Salomon explained: “I think we look back on the Super League as a two-year learning curve. We lost a lot of players over the two years for various reasons, some of them through injury.

“Injuries always play their part and I think it was around August last year where we picked up six or seven injuries. But at the same time we lost key players and a lot of that’s down to the culture at this level. So players like Fliss Gibbons, Bonnie Horwood and Sarah Wiltshire, they were the first three to go and that was a core stem of our team, quality players who added a lot of value, and gradually we lost other players as well.

“Unfortunately as a club that’s part of the challenge at this level now to be in a position where you can retain your best players because a lot of clubs are out there looking to recruit with different powers within the market. That was a challenge for us and I think over the two years the club has learnt what is required to be competitive at this level.

“It’s difficult to look at it just from the point of view of this season because you could say since last August or since July 2014 it’s really highlighted what’s happening and now there is a plan in place to make the club stronger moving forward.”

When Salomon’s departure was announced prior to the London Bees game, he admitted it was “always going to be a difficult decision to leave”, not least because he is a life-long Hornets fan. But he did believe it was the correct time to seek a fresh career challenge.

“There’s going to be changes at the club but it was the right time to do that,” he said after Sunday’s match. “I’ve loved my time at the club but it’s been a real challenge, particularly in the last couple of years with the additional workload that comes with being a Super League club.”

But after seven years working for the club he supports, what was he most proud of?

“Moving forward if the club develops along the lines of what I’m hoping to see that will be a nice thing to walk away from,” he replied.

“I appreciate if you look at the league table this season you’d think it’s not been a great year but some of the things we’ve done off the pitch, in terms of trying to raise the profile of the club, that’s hopefully almost a legacy I suppose that I can leave that will hopefully see the club develop and progress.”

Salomon took control of first-team affairs back in 2011 when the Golden Girls looked doomed to relegation from the Premier League. What followed was remarkable as they claimed 16 points from their last seven games to stay up. It is no surprise that great escape features very prominently among his fondest memories.

“From the on-the-field side, those two Premier League seasons were just incredible and that whole journey from being bottom of the league to stay up that season was amazing,” Salomon said. “And we just carried on that form the following season and nearly won the league.

“Those two years, it will take a lot for something to come close to that in the future even. I think that’s something I’ll always look back on and never forget.”