MOVING FORWARD
will take the reins. The time between now and then will be spent behind the scenes, preparing and planning for the next major campaign. That will start just weeks after the Euros, and the SFA want their new charge to be ready to hit the ground running.
“We’ve been tapping on the door for a while now getting to the play-offs [of major championships] and not getting through. But winning becomes a habit. For the team and the players involved it’s a fantastic achievement and opportunity for them to get experience of playing in a finals.
“I know Anna and the group of players she has. I think they will be setting a target of getting out of the group. No player will be going into that environment just to make up the numbers. Not at this level. No chance.”
Kerr is considered a trailblazer. Her job coaching men,
SHELLEY KERR her achievements as a player and as a manager have ensured that. Having gained her Uefa Pro licence many believe she can eventually shatter the game’s glass ceiling. She won’t rule out a return to the men’s game or write off her chances of doing that some time in the future but she is more focused on the here and now. “I want to reinforce and emphasise how much being the women’s national squad head coach means to me. Certainly in terms of the environment I grew up in and the way I have come through.”
Sitting in Hampden, contemplating the job that lies ahead, it is all a far cry from those early days.
“I wasn’t allowed to play boys’ football when I was 13 so I played for a women’s team at 13 years old.” All because there was no real girls’ football, no other alternative.
“For me to see how much the game has evolved is great because there were not the same opportunities back then. There was no infrastructure and it’s pleasing for me to look and see where we are now. There have been a lot of positive changes. Of course there is still a long way to go but there has been a lot of progress.”
“It’s pleasing for me to look and see where we are now. There have been a lot of positive changes. Of course there is still a long way to go but there has been a lot of progress”