NO GLOVE LOST FOR COURTNEY & EMMA
FRANCE v IRELAND But goalkeeping coach Byrne now Brosnan’s No1 fan
COURTNEY Brosnan insists there are no hard feelings between herself and Ireland goalkeeping coach Emma Byrne over a comment made during Byrne’s time as a television pundit.
The 134-time capped netminder once tipped Megan Walsh to be her long-term replacement ahead of Brosnan.
However, it’s New Jerseyborn Brosnan who has won that battle, while Walsh has been capped just once for Ireland.
In Byrne’s defence, at the time it was the latter who was making waves in the WSL as a regular for Brighton, while Brosnan was stuck on the Everton bench.
But now that she has landed a full-time role as goalkeeping coach with the Girls in Green, has it led to any awkward interactions around the team hotel?
In fact, the pair have had a laugh about the remarks, while last year Byrne (inset) held her hands up and admitted she was wrong to doubt Eileen Gleeson’s number one.
Brosnan had a sensational World Cup campaign, from the qualifiers when she conceded just four goals in nine games — and saved a penalty in the play-off against Scotland — to the finals in Australia last summer.
“Emma was a great player and she’s really funny, so she’s someone you can have jokes with and I had to give her a bit, but I think she’s my number one fan,” said Brosnan.
Great
“We’ve had a lot of discussions about how good she thinks I am and can be, so it’s great to have someone like that in your corner.
“We know all the media stuff that she’s done, that she’s involved in things like that, but you can tell she’s someone who just loves watching football.
“She’s always talking about other Champions League games or international games, so she knows her stuff.”
Brosnan is enjoying her time on the training pitch with the legendary former Arsenal goalkeeper, a key member of Gleeson’s backroom team. “When you’re in training, she’s quite good at letting things flow and not overcoaching, and then finding the moments to make the coaching point,” explained the 34-time capped star.
“She’s not complacent, and she doesn’t want us to be complacent, which I find really helps me in training.
“You could take a cross, and maybe it was okay, but she’s like, I know you can take that ball higher or come out further.
“So it’s great to have someone who knows that you have the talent and knows that you can be great but wants you to be better and continue to improve in training every day.” Brosnan added:
“She’s an absolute legend and her name speaks for itself, so it’s great to be able to have her in our corner and teach us everything.
“She came on the last camp, so the Italy/Wales one was the first one that she was goalkeeper specific.
Honest
“It’s been great. The thing I love most about Emma is how open and honest she is.
“At the start of the last camp, she brought me, Grace (Moloney) and Sophie (Whitehouse) in and said, ‘Listen, this is what I see, but if you have any feedback or want certain things in training or in the warm up or anything like that, I’m open to criticism, to feedback’.
“So it’s great to have that relationship where you can be open with your coach and find out what works best for the whole group.”
What if there comes a time when Byrne has to get stuck into Brosnan again?
“I feel like I’ve always had that belief that I’m capable of being the number one and know that I have the talent to be a starting goalkeeper for this country,” she said.
“So you have to take all the criticisms on board, but have that confidence and belief in yourself.”
Looking ahead to tomorrow’s Euro 2025 qualification opener against France, and next Tuesday’s game against England, Brosnan said: “We’re all really excited for it.
“This is where we want to be. We want to be testing ourselves against the best.
“You want to be playing against the best teams and it’s great to have such good competition. We’re all really looking forward to it.
“It’s great that we’ve been here before and played these big teams in massive moments, like playing Australia, the sold out crowd.
“It gives you the confidence that you’ve been there before and you can handle it.”