‘Honoured’ Gleeson keen to add to City’s record of success

Glasgow City have announced the appointment of Eileen Gleeson as head coach.

The assistant manager of the Republic of Ireland will take up her post on November 8 after she has helped the Irish women’s national team through their upcoming World Cup qualifiers.

At City she replaces interim coach Grant Scott, who has been in temporary charge since Scott Booth stepped down this summer.

No interviews were held for the vacancy, with City insisting they wanted Gleeson all along and were willing to wait until they got the right person for the role.

She has previous experience as manager with Peamount and UCD Waves in Ireland and will be tasked with carrying on City’s 14-year domination of the SWPL title.

Gleeson said: “I am honoured to be taking the role.

“For many years I have admired the progressive, ambitious, and inclusive values promoted by Glasgow City and their ongoing commitment to providing opportunities and pathways for girls and women to participate at all levels of the game.

“City are a trailblazing club who continue to push boundaries and drive standards in Scottish women’s football and beyond, as demonstrated by their unrivalled success both on and off the pitch.

“I am delighted to be part of such a club where winning ways are driven by a culture of high standards and a refusal to stand still.

“I want to add to City’s success and will be very ambitious about this. While winning will always be important it is more important that we reflect the club’s values both on and off the pitch.

"I am very excited to get started in the role and to continue to build on the excellent work of all involved to date.”

Laura Montgomery, club chief executive, said: “I am delighted to be able to announce Eileen as our incoming new head coach.

"I made no secret some months ago, that this was not a position we would be advertising. We have had a clear plan for some time regarding succession at our football club and were prepared to play the long game to ensure we got the candidate we were after.”