KIERNAN’S BACK UP TO SPEED
WHEN Leanne Kiernan signed for Liverpool during the summer, her family back home in Cavan were quick to tell her that she signed for the wrong Reds.
‘I have a lot of people in my family who can’t even watch me play with Liverpool. They are all big [Manchester] United fans at home,’ the striker reveals with a laugh. ‘Even myself, I would be a low-key United fan but I don’t really put that out there.
‘When I signed, they were like, “Ah, Leanne, we are very happy for you but don’t dare come home with a jersey for us. You are the wrong type of Reds!”’ the Bailieborough native explains with a smile. Still, she could count on advice from her father, a constant sounding board throughout her career.
When Liverpool manager Matt Beard called and told Kiernan he wanted to give her the No9 jersey at the club, she was a little unsure. She would have preferred a higher number, one with less pressure associated with it.
‘I asked do you not have a bigger number, 33 or something. I am quite laid-back, I like to be in the background before showing what I am about. I mentioned it to my Dad and he said, “Are you silly? You got offered the No9 and you’re not taking it? Take it, will you!?” It was a nice treat to get that number, great that the coach has that belief and faith in me, to give me that shirt.’
And Kiernan has responded in kind. Two weeks ago, her goal-scoring exploits were recognised as she was named the Championship player of the week and last weekend, she scored against WSL side Aston Villa in the Cup, a minute after coming off the bench. Following an injuryplagued last season at West Ham, Kiernan admits she is in a much happier place — and that’s reflected in her football.
‘I have had a bad time with injuries but thankfully, that’s in the past. I have been getting back to myself since pre-season, my personality is coming back and I’m just enjoying it. And when you are quite happy in
“I was in tears with shin splints but I’m happier now”
things, it works out for the best.’
Kiernan had to drop down from the WSL to join Liverpool, who are trying to escape the second tier of English football. Given the number of Irish players currently playing in England’s top division, there might have been a fear of Kiernan losing her place in the Ireland squad. Out of sight, out of mind and all of that.
‘Listen, this was the best choice for me at the time. Sometimes, you have to take a step back to maybe get two steps forward,’ she points out. ‘I’m just really happy and enjoying my football and that is all I want at the moment.
‘I’m getting the old Leanne back, the one that was quite confident on the ball. I haven’t been playing a lot of minutes, so it is nice, getting 90 minutes week-in, week-out. And we all play football to enjoy it. People forget that. Obviously, it is my job and there’s pressure, but I play it because I enjoy it. If I didn’t enjoy it, I wouldn’t be playing and would be home in Cavan, farming!’
Kiernan was in a different place a year ago. She has been struggling with shin splints since her first game of the season with West Ham. She played through the pain, until she broke down in tears one morning in training.
‘I got shin splints in the first game of the season and they don’t go away overnight. I played for maybe four months in absolute agony before deciding I couldn’t do it any more. I couldn’t walk. There were tears coming from my eyes one day doing warm-ups and I thought, this is not right.
‘I took six months off completely, went home for a few weeks, was shoved in the gym every day and I’m not a massive gym head, looking at yourself in the mirror.
‘There’s only so many songs that you can listen to. But it has all worked out.’
Playing with a top club like Liverpool in the Championship, Kiernan is part of a team that is expected to beat everyone.
It’s a little different with Ireland, as they face the star-studded Swedes tomorrow night as heavy underdogs. But the recent win, and excellent performance, against Australia has bolstered the confidence of the squad.
‘We are not silly, we are aware of where Sweden stand, they are in the top two teams in the world, but you want to play the best teams and learn from them,’ Kiernan says.
‘We know what we are about, we will have a gameplan going into it and who knows what will happen when we have 4,000 screaming Irish fans urging us on,’ she adds with the smile of someone who has re-discovered her love for the game. And wants to show that against some of the world’s best defenders tomorrow
night.