I watched Liverpool match in new surroundings and what I saw shows club is listening

Less than 24 hours after the Arne Slot era hit its first major stumbling block in the shape of Saturday's dismal defeat to Nottingham Forest, Liverpool Women embarked on their own new chapter with a pre-season clash against Everton. Unlike their male counterparts, it is not a new manager the Reds have to contend with this term but a new home stadium, with the club having ended their longstanding association with Tranmere Rovers' Prenton Park at the end of last season.

It is understood talks took place over continuing at Tranmere beyond the this summer, with Liverpool visiting several other sites before eventually signing a 10-year lease at St Helens Stadium, home to the rugby league team of the same name. The 18,000-capacity venue opened in 2012 and has previously played host to European games for the Reds' Academy teams.

While the move initially divided opinion in some quarters of the fanbase, with some supporters taking issue with the fact the team have actually moved further away from Anfield, the club are confident the change of scenery will help propel Matt Beard's side to the next level both on and off the pitch.

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With the Rugby League season running from February through to September, Liverpool Women will have sole occupancy of the stadium for almost half the season and the club's imprint on the venue is abundantly clear from the moment you enter the car park. Banners emblazoned with the Liverpool crest adorn the outside of the building while inside everything from the advertising hoardings to the flags on display in the West Stand, is embellished with the Liver bird.

The same is also true of the bespoke home dressing room which, for the first time in the club's history, is exclusively for the use of the women's team. In addition to the upgraded player facilities, one of the motivating factors behind Liverpool's relocation was the club's ambition to enhance the matchday experience for supporters and, even in the driving rain on Sunday afternoon, there were plenty of match-goers making use of the newly introduced Fan Zone.

In the build-up to kick-off, local band The Ragamuffins treated those in attendance to an array of tunes from the Liverpool songbook, while children were invited to test their talents in the football skills zone and get their photo taken with club mascot, Mighty Red.

Certainly, the club's vision for their augmented matchday experience looks to align with that of Nikki Doucet, the CEO of the Women's Professional Leagues Limited (WPLL) - the newly-created club-owned body that is now in charge of the top two tiers of the English women's game. Doucet previously told Sky Sports she believes going to a Women's Super League (WSL) match should be "kind of like Glastonbury", with clubs being encouraged to adopt a trial and error approach to their matchday set-up.

“When I think about the experience, there might be different food and beverage options for the women’s fanbase versus the traditional men’s fanbase," the former Nike executive told the ECHO and a handful of other journalists last week. "Even just tweaking that a little bit. Or merchandise. Or maybe we want to share friendship bracelets, or something the men’s game might never think of but it might work for our game.”

While there was no sign of any friendship bracelets on Sunday afternoon, it is clear the club are fully committed to finding new ways to boost fan attendance. A crowd of 3,485 watched the clash with Everton - not bad considering it was a pre-season game in pretty grim weather conditions - but the hope is that number will increase significantly over the course of the campaign.

The match itself was not the most high-octane of curtain-raisers, with both teams still honing their fitness ahead of this season's first round of WSL fixtures next weekend. The playing surface itself is immaculate, with a brand-new Premier League standard pitch having been laid over the summer, though neither side was able to use that to their advantage in a disjointed first-half.

Everton had the better of proceedings before the break, with new signings Toni Payne and Inma Gabarro causing plenty of problems for the Liverpool defence, though it was the hosts who had the best chance of the half as Courtney Brosnan was called into action to keep out a Gemma Bonner header on the stroke of half-time.

Both teams looked livelier after the restart, with Karoline Olesen forcing Rachael Laws into an excellent save and Liverpool's Ceri Holland sending an effort sailing just over the crossbar. Reds substitute Mia Enderby did have the ball in the back of the net after finishing off a slick passing move from the hosts but the goal was quickly ruled out for offside and, despite a strong Liverpool finish, the game ended goalless.

"I think it's a great stadium," manager Beard said when asked about his team's new home after the game. "I think it will take time for us to be familiar with it but it's a great facility for us and we're looking forward to making it our home.

"Even when you come in, you see the branding. Apart from the hoardings and maybe one or two flags we didn't have that (at Prenton Park). We didn't have anything outside. I just think we're this side of the water now, red stadium. I think it's going to make a difference for us, not only here but when we play the Anfield games as well. "

Sunday also saw the introduction of the club's new post-match protocols, designed to ensure for safer and swifter interaction between players and fans. Rather than it being a free-for-all as it was at Prenton Park, supporters were invited to enter a free prize draw to win the opportunity to meet players after the final whistle, enabling the continuation of a much-loved tradition within the women's game without compromising the welfare of either party.

It is just one innovation the club have employed in a bid to make life at St Helens more enjoyable for fans and players alike. And, while the Reds will hope for a slightly slicker showing when they host Leicester City in the WSL next weekend, there is a feeling that Sunday marked the start of a very exciting new era for Liverpool Women.