THE Republic of Ireland women’s team would be a much duller team without joker-in-the-pack and Youtuber Ruesha Littlejohn.
The midfielder will be ‘Youtubing’ her way through this month’s World Cup finals and acting as Ireland’s defensive shield against group opponents Australia, Canada and Nigeria.
Released from Aston Villa towards the end of the season, the former underage Scottish international plans to live every moment of the World Cup Down Under – and has manager Vera Pauw’s blessing to be herself.
She was banned from playing for Scotland after a fall-out with former coach Anna Signeul and after hooking with Arsenal in 2010, where a few Irish players were based at the time, Littlejohn decided to throw her lot in with Ireland.
“I knew a few of the Irish girls at Arsenal and it kind of grew from there,” Littlejohn explains, whose grandparents hail from Belfast.
“I was very open to the idea [of playing for Ireland]. So, the Scotland manager came back to me and said: ‘Okay, you’ve learned your lesson – come back and play for Scotland’.
“But my mind was made up. I spent my summers and sometimes Christmases at my nanny’s. She was living in Coney Island, not far from Downpatrick, but she’s originally from Belfast. So, it was a no-brainer.
“My life would have been very different if I hadn’t decided to play for Ireland and I’m delighted I did.”
Her Youtube channel has a sizeable following which features fly-on-the-wall videos from the Irish camp and interviews and clips with some of her team-mates.
“My sister did journalism and she started on Youtube. So, I decided to start my own Youtube. The pieces can go in any direction. I’d sit down with players and have a chat.”
Clearly the extrovert of the Irish squad, Littlejohn bounded onto the stage in UCD a couple of weeks ago to collect her World Cup number eight jersey from her manager Vera Pauw.
“I think that’s just me,” she says with a warm smile.
“If you want to bring the best out of yourself you’ve to be your own person. Between me and Lucy Quinn we’d be the jokers in the team. But when you’re in your room, you want your down-time too but when you’re around the girls you want to have fun.
“I’ve always been like that. I always want to be the joker. I’m lucky Vera allows me to be like that because I’ve had managers before that didn’t allow me to express myself.
“If you’re going to keep someone trapped in a cage then you’re never going to get the best out of them.”
Littlejohn made her Ireland senior debut against Hungary 11 years ago and has amassed over 70 caps.
Her career has seen her play for Glasgow City, Celtic, Arsenal, Liverpool, IL Sanviken (Norway), London Bees, West Ham United, Leicester City, Birmingham City and Aston Villa – and which prompted her twin sister and broadcaster Shebahn Aherne to say she’d more clubs than Tiger Woods.
On the field, the 33-year-old is a serious operator, often minding the house to allow Denise O’Sullivan to assume the attacking midfield role.
And she seems to share a warm relationship with her no-nonsense manager.
“Vera is Vera,” she says.
“What you see is what you get from her. She has a unique personality. She’ll let you know what you need to improve on, and it’s needed sometimes. I don’t think it’s good if someone is telling you that you’re great all the time when you’re actually not.
“She’s quite direct with the Dutch in her. She’s to the point.”
For now, though, Littlejohn will try to live in the moment as the Irish girls count down the days to their World Cup opener against joint hosts Australia in Sydney next Thursday (11am Irish time).
“It’s hard to appreciate when you’re in the moment but we now have to live in the moment and in a few years’ time we’ll realise that this was huge. I think it’s important for us to soak it up and take it all in.
“It probably won’t become real until the first game in Australia when we’re in that stadium, but we’ll try and embrace it.”
