KENNY Shiels has claimed that if the Northern Ireland women's team qualify for next year's European Championships it will be the greatest sporting achievement he has ever known.
Northern Ireland go into tonight's second leg of their Euro play-off against Ukraine at Seaview (7.45pm) with a 2-1 lead from the first match, knowing they can become the first women's side from here to reach the finals of a major tournament.
History beckons for a team viewed by many as no-hopers at the start of the campaign. Boss Shiels, formerly in charge of Coleraine, Ballymena, Kilmarnock and others, has brought the girls on the most magical journey and suggest if they can pull off one more trick it will surpass anything that has gone before.
"To put it in context they have beaten professional players who have played for Manchester City, Arsenal and Wolfsburg and have been competing against players from top teams in Europe," says Shiels.
"We are talking about players from Glentoran, Cliftonville, Linfield and Crusaders. Our players are made up of part-timers who work in B & Q and in hospitals as nurses. We have a prison officer and a policewoman. They are working people. Sixteen of our squad are amateurs and we are playing against the best players in Europe and the world.
"You have Leicester at 5000/1 winning the Premier League. What an achievement that was but that was done with money. Ours isn't. It's unbelievable what the girls have done. If they were to go that final furlong I don't think you could find anything that's been better across the board from the game became global in the mid 1980s. To achieve something like this these girls have outshone everyone else I can think of."
On how far his team have come, Shiels added: "When we came in they were timid and frightened and we have unearthed the talent and given them a platform to be themselves. They have grown in self belief and positivity and tactically as well.
"I'm very proud of myself, the staff and most of all the players for the progress we have made and that we have made a difference. I would relate it to someone who fosters a young child and the satisfaction they get from helping them with their life and to become good young people and better at what they want to do. I'm not saying I made a big contribution. I just facilitated that talent and helped it grow."
