In an effort to lighten the mood when Katie McCabe’s future at Arsenal was broached on Monday the Irish captain zipped her mouth shut. “We are in talks.”
For the record the Ballon d’Or nominee thinks Aitana Bonmati of Spain will capture football’s ultimate individual honour.
“Crazy, crazy. I’m the first Irish women’s player to be nominated for the Ballon d’Or. Someone told me the last player was Roy Keane back in 2000, so not bad company!”
Before Keane the last Irish person to be long listed was Paul McGrath in 1993 so, no, not bad at all.
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Diane Caldwell’s open views on Vera Pauw’s four years as Ireland manager allowed McCabe stick to what she knows best. “Do ya know what, it was lovely chatting about football!” she laughed. “Sorry for being cranky in the French press conference!”
The French press conference was 10 weeks ago, but McCabe remembered. On the idea that player power ousting Pauw as Ireland manager, she brands it an “unfair narrative”. And it appears the FAI executive wanted to replace the coach just as much as the players did.
“You go back before Jonathan Hill and the Delaney era, our voices weren’t really heard when we were coming in as women’s national league team players. We’ve now developed a relationship with the FAI that they do listen to us. They have listened, nothing about management, but standards, such as playing on the best pitches, going to the gym.
“It’s been tough, I’m not going to lie,” she added of the messy World Cup exit. “There have been a few unfair headlines I would say. This thing about Katie versus Vera. It’s not a thing.”
The game never stops for McCabe. Arsenal versus Liverpool could attract 50,000 to the Emirates on October 1st but first there is the small matter of leading Ireland on to the field against Northern Ireland for the first ever women’s football international at the Aviva Stadium. Some 30,000 tickets have been sold for Saturday despite the 1pm kick-off.
McCabe sat out training on Monday, along with Ruesha Littlejohn, while Denise O’Sullivan is typically late into Dublin having captained North Carolina Courage in Orlando on Sunday night.
Fitness updates are pending. In the meantime the FAI released its 18-strong “interim” management for the Nations League campaign. It has been confirmed to The Irish Times that interim manager Eileen Gleeson will return to her full-time role as the FAI head of women’s and girls’ football as soon as director of football Marc Canham recruits a replacement for Pauw.
Considering Nations League results impact qualification to the 2025 Euros in Switzerland, Canham is on the clock. However, besides Gleeson the interim management has a permanent feel to it.
Emma Byrne, who McCabe succeeded as Irish skipper seven years ago, and Colin Healy ran the training session in Abbotstown. There is even a sports psychologist in Sarah Murray, something Pauw never allowed.
“I have used sports psychologists before – we have got some at Arsenal. It’s funny, if you have got an injury you go to the physio and they sort you out. But if you are struggling with something in your head who do you turn to? And I think the whole thing about sports psychology is fantastic, and to have that in our set-up here will only benefit us going forward.”
There was also the return of Tyler Toland, the Blackburn Rovers midfielder who was capped at 16 but cut loose by Ireland after a personality clash with the former manager.
“Look, I’ve followed Tyler’s journey. Obviously since she left Man City she was over playing in Spain, so I chatted to her a bit about that this morning. It’s great to have her in. She’s over in Blackburn now and we’ve got a lot of players playing in the Championship, which is great, but it’s nice to see her back in. She is a fantastic player, a fantastic talent, she’s a great kid and she’s still so young.
“I can’t change the manager’s decision. The manager at the time had a conversation with her. It’s going back a few years now, all the stuff in the media. I’ve always offered my support to Tyler. She’s a great little professional player. She was straight back in there today working hard on the pitch with the guys out there.”
