US coach Hayes is 'having a ball' after 75 days in the job

PARIS : United States women's coach Emma Hayes is having a blast leading the team, the manager said after guiding her side to a record-extending fifth Olympic gold medal on Saturday two months after taking the job.

Former Chelsea boss Hayes succeeded Vlatko Andonovski as U.S. coach in May after their worst-ever World Cup performance last year - a round of 16 exit- and with high expectations of claiming an Olympic gold medal for the first time in 12 years.

"Sometimes we look at setbacks as something that shouldn't happened, I feel the opposite. I think Vlatko developed a group of players that may or may not have been ready at the time of the World Cup," Hayes told reporters following their 1-0 final win over Brazil.

"Coaching is cyclical and it takes time, I believe I came in the right moment and let me tell you I've had a blast in the last month.

"Some of my best friends are in the coaching staff, I felt at times like I was at university, I felt lighter than I have felt in a long time and it's not about weight of expectations, I know what this jersey means, but I'm not going to let it strangle me."

British-born Hayes added that she was delighted to repay the U.S. with a gold medal after all the opportunities the country had given her.

"America means more to me than most people can realise. I was a 21-year-old that came from a society that didn't embrace women's football," she said.

"(The U.S.) nourished me, opened the doors for me and gave me opportunities that England never ever gave me and I'm so happy to repay that faith.

"I'm a delighted sort of half-American today," the 47-year-old added.