AS one manager exits, another enters the international scene – and on the same island.
Football being what it is, fate decreed that new Northern Ireland women’s manager Tanya Oxtoby’s first game in charge will be against the Republic of Ireland, whose boss Vera Pauw departed in acrimonious circumstances earlier this week.
[ Vera Pauw's parting shot and Stephen Kenny rousing the natives for French testOpens in new window ]
[ Kenny Shiels, the King of Northern Ireland women's football, departs his throneOpens in new window ]
[ NI women's football still aiming to build on the Euro summer of 2022Opens in new window ]
Although some felt the Irish FA took their time in finding a successor to Kenny Shiels, at least they do have someone in charge ahead of the all-island clash at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Saturday September 23.
Australian Oxtoby struck a composed, confident figure in her inaugural media conference at Windsor Park, and skilfully sidestepped the suggestion that the disarray down south could help her side start the inaugural Women’s Nations League with a positive result:
“It could be – we’re probably just more focussed on what we’re looking to do. We’ve got a lot of work to do in a short space of time so we’ll try not to get drawn too much into that.
“Obviously it’s never nice when a coach or a manager loses their job… We have steps and processes we need to place for that game. It’s going to be a really good challenge for us, first game up, but it will give us a good indication of where we’re at.”
The Republic will still be favourites: at home, having participated in the recent Women’s World Cup, and ranked 24th in the world (16th in Uefa), compared to the North at 47th (and 27th among European sides).
Oxtoby, who most recently was assistant to the excellent Emma Hayes at Chelsea Women, has previously managed FA Women’s Super League side Bristol City Women. She also has international coaching experience at youth level with England, and as an assistant with Scotland seniors in 2021.
With that background, she insists she isn’t daunted by the challenge of taking on the Republic of Ireland, nor too concerned about the short window of preparation she has:
“It’s not ideal,” she laughed, “but it is what it is. My time in my previous environment gave me a really good platform working in short spaces and having to prepare teams quickly.
“I know what we’re going after. We have really good people around us who know the players really well and have been involved with the squad and that’s going to be really integral to make sure we hit the ground running.
“I’ve got every faith that we’re in a really good place to start to put those foundations into be successful.”
After joking that over her initial four-year contract she’d like “some sunshine”, Oxtoby confirmed that she would have both the 2025 Women’s Euros in Switzerland and the 2027 Women’s World Cup – hosts yet to be decided – in her sights.
“When I took on this role, we were looking at the Euros and the World Cup – they’re the two cycles we’re working towards. I’d like to be competing in both those tournaments.
“How we get there is going to be a process. We’ve got short-terms ambitions but long-term goals as well. We’re quite aligned on that.”
The 41-year-old attended the Women’s League Cup Final at Stangmore Park in Dungannon, where league champions Cliftonville Ladies defeated Sion Swifts 3-1 thanks to a hat-trick from Caitlin McGuinness.
The younger McGuinness, along with her sister Kirsty, are among a host of Reds in the NI squad and Oxtoby will spend time here as well as watching her panellists who are playing for English clubs.
“There are great foundations to work from here and Angela [Platt, IFA Director of Women’s Football] and Aaron [Hughes, IFA Technical Director] have been working really hard to make sure from an Association point of view that incremental steps are being put into place.
“It’s a slow burner, there’s not a [quick] fix. You look at other parts of the world: the women’s game has grown slowly, but has then exploded. We just need to try to get that balance right.
“From a national team point of view, we need to focus and create a high-performing environment that will filter all the way down.”
Oxtoby also confirmed that both Seaview and Windsor Park would be used for home matches, depending on the circumstances and the opponents. Wherever the games are, the Aussie already appears quite at home.