Ahead of her first game in charge since her appointment as Republic of Ireland manager, against Turkey in Tallaght on Friday, Carla Ward will find close to a third of her squad well rested when they meet up in Dublin.
Eight of the 23 players she selected for the Nations League double-header, the second game being away to Slovenia on Tuesday week, didn’t play at the weekend – either because they are without clubs, it’s their off-season, or they were unused substitutes.
It’s hardly an ideal situation for Ward whose first squad had a look of Eileen Gleeson’s last, the only notable addition that of Charlton midfielder Melisa Filis, the former England underage international who is eligible to play for Ireland through her Mayo-born mother.
The inclusion of Ruesha Littlejohn, Grace Moloney and Marissa Sheva, who are all currently unattached so have played no club football at all of late, raised an eyebrow or two, although Ward has evidently put her trust in them to keep themselves in shape.
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One player who will come in to camp with a spring in her step is Amber Barrett whose two goals for Standard Liege on Saturday helped them to a 4-1 win over Oud-Heverlee Leuven in the semi-finals of the Belgian Cup.
That brings Barrett’s tally to seven in as many games for her club, and she’ll hope that form helps convince Ward that she merits more than the odd appearance off the bench, which was largely her fate under both Vera Pauw and Gleeson.
Mind you, Saoirse Noonan is closing in on the 30-goal mark for Celtic this season and she remains excluded from the squad, so how Ward rates the quality of the leagues Irish players are competing in is evidently a factor in her squad choices.
Life at Crystal Palace, meanwhile, remains one of enduring frustration for their three Irish internationals, the club bottom of the WSL, four points adrift of Aston Villa.
After a shoulder injury sustained in preseason resulted in her being ruled out of action until December, defender Hayley Nolan is now beset with a hamstring problem that will keep her sidelined for at least a month, just as she was pushing for a recall to the Irish squad.
And Abbie Larkin and Izzy Atkinson were unused subs in Palace’s 3-1 defeat away to Manchester City on Sunday. Larkin has, at least, seen plenty of action off the bench for Palace this season, without actually starting a WSL game, but Atkinson hadn’t even made the match-day squad in 2025 until Sunday. She’s one of a number of Ward’s squad who desperately need a move come summer.
While the disquiet about Colin Healy’s fate after Gleeson’s dismissal rumbles on, another of the previous manager’s backroom staff, Emma Byrne, will have been content with her debut as assistant coach of Championship side Southampton on Sunday – they held promotion-chasing Bristol City to a scoreless draw. Byrne will double-job, continuing in her role as goalkeeping coach for Ireland.
