Eileen Gleeson, the new manager of the Republic of Ireland women's team, has claimed that the treacherous damp conditions in Albania last October convinced her to u-turn on her decision not to take the Ireland job full-time.
Gleeson, who served as the Football Association of Ireland's Head of Women and Girls Football and also spent two years as an assistant coach to Vera Pauw, the former Ireland manager,
After Pauw's departure this year, Gleeson took over the team on an interim basis. Since then, Gleeson's record as Ireland's caretaker boss has been excellent.
The Dubliner has overseen a perfect record of six wins during her UEFA Nations League B campaign, scoring around 20 goals and conceding two in a group that also included Hungary, Northern Ireland, and Albania.
Gleeson was asked on more than one occasion if she would consider taking the role full-time and rebuffed the question at every turn.
There were suggestions that she would return to the role of Head of Women and Girls Football with the FAI, but according to Gleeson, her mind changed back in October in the Stadiumi ‘Loro Borici’ in Shkodër, in Albania.
“If you’re asking for a critical, specific time where I changed my mind, it was standing in the rain in Albania. I mean, who wouldn’t want to be there?” said Gleeson this week.
“When I came into the process, I came in pretty quickly in a very tumultuous and transitional time. During that period, it could have gone any way. The team was decompressing from their first-ever World Cup qualification; there was a change of management; there was a lot of transition."
Eileen Gleeson confirms why she took the Ireland job(Photo By Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
Gleeson also admitted that although she had a focus on her other role with the FAI, the connection and progress made with the team throughout her interim tenure made her shift her thinking from going to staying.
“I was very much in the headspace of the women and girls’ football role and really committed to that. It’s a wonderful role, and I was enjoying it. Then, as the camps went on, I started to really feel the connection again with the pitch and the team, with the progress we were making, and with the excitement of it. I started to change my mind as the process went on and throughout conversations with Marc (Canham, FAI director of football). Then I expressed my interest and entered into the process.
“In terms of wanting to do this, this is not a new phenomenon; I’ve wanted to be the head coach of Ireland. I applied for the two previous roles and was unsuccessful, so this is an actual evolution."
Gleeson's departure from her role as Head of Women and Girls Football will now need to be filled by someone just as capable. Canham, the FAI's director of football, believes it is imperative to do so to support the momentum that women's football is going through at this current moment.
“It’s absolutely key to the progression of the wider game. Eileen has the privilege and amazing opportunity of spearheading the national team, but there’s absolutely loads to do to capitalise on the momentum of women's and girls’ football,” added Canham.
“You only had to look at how competitive the last World Cup was compared to previous tournaments. Everybody is either catching up or accelerating. The head of women’s and girls’ football, together with progressing the national team, is critical.
“We’re at a very good point now. Obviously, we want to stay there, but we also want to accelerate and try, if we can, to get ahead. We’re very conscious that the game is moving fast."
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