Kirsty Barton has put university on hold to graduate as a professional footballer.

Now she and team-mates are looking forward to their biggest day yet in the new job as Albion play their first ever match in the top-tier Women’s Super League.

In recent years, midfielder Barton has helped Albion come back from promotion near misses in the ultra-competitive Premier League (actually the third tier), eventually winning the division and then the promotion play-off.

She has helped them learn in the WSL2 Spring Series.

Then she played in every match as they finished a brilliant second place at the higher level.

Now comes the ultimate test in domestic football. The biggest step up, according to Albion boss Hope Powell.

And that is to take on Manchester City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Arsenal and the rest on an equal footing in the newly rebranded FA WSL.

It is a change of division, a change of fixture list and a big change in lifestyle for many players as Albion make the big move to full-time professionalism.

Barton said: “Over the years I’ve done a lot of of different things.

“I’ve gone from a full-time job in a primary school, where I was teaching PE.

“I didn’t see football becoming my full-time job.

“I went to university, which I did for three years, to become a PE teacher.

“I have had to defer my last year for this opportunity, which was obviously a no-brainer.

“The last few years I’ve been doing uni, which involved working full-time in a secondary school so it was really tough.

“But football was always something that was never a chore. It was my escape really.

“At the end of the working day, I would look forward to going to training no matter how tired I was.

“I will be a qualified teacher when I complete my last year.

“That is something I will go back and do when I need to.”

Most of last season’s team have made the move into the full-time game – with one notable exception.

Former skipper Vicky Ashton-Jones decided her police career came before continuing to play football.

Powell said: “At the end of last season the frank conversation was she wasn’t going to give that up.

“I would not encourage her to give up that for being a full-time pro when the money wasn’t perhaps what she was used to earning.

“She recognised that but she is still part of the club. She comes back and she sees the girls.

“She is doing a walk up Kilimanjaro to raise money for Albion In The Community and is still very embedded in the club, which is nice.

“But, other than that, everybody has made a decision to sign a pro contract and go with it.”

Albion’s first professional pre-season included training in Portugal and the sort of workload to which many have not been accustomed.

Powell said: “The transition from part-time to full-time has taken a little bit of time.

“It was tough before, balancing work and training, and I give a lot of credit to the girls for doing that.

“We have reached nine or ten weeks in now, where they are starting to appreciate the full-time programme.

“They are more relaxed about it, they know what the expectations are.

“I think everybody found pre-season really tough, not being familiar with training every day to that intensity.

“They have got through that and again they are pushing themselves on.

“Respect to them. They have worked really hard.

“The opportunity to be a professional footballer, if you love football, is every player’s dream. They have been given the chance and they are going to give it a good go.”

Albion lost 3-0 at Bristol City in the Continental Cup last season but believe they have progressed since then.

Barton said: “Looking back, you could see we weren’t quite ready for that yet.

“The physical element was one factor and the speed of play.

“How quickly you make decisions. Decision-making is massive.

“You have to be forward-thinking. You have to always know where you are going.

“I think that is massive difference.

“It was a learning curve and it was where we wanted to be.

“We played them again in pre-season. Granted, it was only a friendly but we beat them so we are looking forward to the game.”