ExpandRepublic of Ireland head coach Carla Ward will be without a couple of key players for this week's World Cup qualifying playoff first leg against Kazakhstan. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho
Republic of Ireland head coach Carla Ward will be without a couple of key players for this week's World Cup qualifying playoff first leg against Kazakhstan. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho
It’s unlikely a trip from Sydney to Astana was on Stephen Neligan’s bingo card last week, but for a man who once worked in a sewage treatment plant and ended up as assistant manager of Everton’s women’s team, career swerves are nothing new.
The Australian has joined Carla Ward’s Republic of Ireland set-up in advance of the World Cup qualifying playoff against Kazakhstan, the first leg of which takes place in Astana on Friday (12pm Irish time) before Páirc Uí Chaoimh hosts the return leg next Tuesday (7.30pm).
Technically, Neligan becomes Ward’s fourth assistant in just over a year, although Brian Sorensen, whom she chose as a replacement for Gary Cronin, had to withdraw before ever getting to fill the role when he was appointed interim manager of Aston Villa’s women last week. Neligan had been Sorensen’s assistant at Everton.
“Stephen was in the WSL for five years with Everton,” said Ward. “Previous to that he worked at Fortuna Hjorring in Denmark and before that in Australia. So he’s familiar to a lot of the players, he’s also familiar to myself, he’s someone I’ve known for a while.”
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“He actually is somebody I tried to talk to seven or eight months ago about [joining] the process, but he was very much embedded in his job at Everton. It was very last-minute, but we’re delighted we got him on a flight from Sydney. He’s here and we’re delighted to have him. He’s with us for the next two windows, and then we’ll see from there.”
Since Villa sacked their manager, Natalia Arroyo, last week, there has been speculation about the club attempting to lure Ward back to where managed for three seasons.
[ Ireland v Kazakhstan World Cup playoff: Team news, kick-off time, where to watch ]
“I’m really happy where I am, to be honest,” she said. “I’ve said it very loudly, very clearly: I love my job here. Hopefully the organisation love what I do too. But, for me, there’s only one process in my mind, and that’s me being really honest. I wouldn’t entertain anything other than conversations about the next four games. That is as clear as I can be with anything.”
Republic of Ireland head coach Carla Ward has been linked with the vacant Aston Villa managerial job. Photograph: Nick Elliott/Inpho
Republic of Ireland head coach Carla Ward has been linked with the vacant Aston Villa managerial job. Photograph: Nick Elliott/Inpho
Ward and the squad travelled to Astana on Monday on a chartered flight, the journey, which included a refuelling stop in Turkey, taking close to 11 hours. They’ve been joined by the FAI’s communications manager Kieran Crowley, who will hope for a slightly less eventful window than the one he just endured with the men’s team.
They were greeted by temperatures close to zero, with snow forecast, but, to their relief, it’s due to warm up through the week. They will expect to book their place in the final qualifying playoff against Belgium or Poland, with Kazakhstan a lowly 98 in the Fifa rankings – 77 places below Ireland.
But a few factors will make Ireland cautious enough going into these games, notably the absence of their two most important players, captain Katie McCabe (suspended) and Denise O’Sullivan. Both will return for the second leg, O’Sullivan’s recent injury problems prompting Ward to spare her this trip. Add in the absence of Ruesha Littlejohn, who is still without a club, and that’s a significant loss of leadership.
“But I think we have a lot of leaders who emerged in the last campaign, and I think they’ll continue to do so,” ward said. “These moments are always opportunities for people to really step up. Naturally, Katie, Denise and Ruesha are big losses, but I have full belief in my squad. I believe in every single one of them. “
Another factor is that the first leg will be played on an artificial pitch – “and let me tell you, players don’t like playing on 3G”, Ward said.
“But that happens, so we’ll be ready, we believe it’s going to be okay. The ball will certainly move quickly, and that might work for us, but it’s the same for both teams.”
“We’ve got four cup finals,” Ward continued, adding in that likely two-legged affair against Belgium or Poland, where the prize for the winners will be a place in next summer’s World Cup in Brazil.
“There will be absolutely no complacency. We have used the underdog mentality as fuel before, and Kazakhstan will do exactly the same.
“When you look at the billboards around the place, you look at the TV stations here, everyone’s talking about the game. This is their World Cup final, essentially. It’s the biggest game for them in a very, very long time. We’ve thrived with the underdog tag before, let’s make sure that we don’t allow anyone else to thrive on it against us.”