Carla Ward: ‘Katie McCabe is on the verge of burnout'

Irish Times

2 days ago

'The way I would put it,' said
Carla Ward
, the Ireland manager, after a
disappointing 1-0 defeat of Slovenia
at Páirc Uí Chaoimh, 'it was a Carla Ward team on the ball and an Irish mentality off the ball.
'That's what we need to build on. If we want to play in an exciting way going forward, and that's the way I like my teams to play, we have to be better off the ball.
'And that was the start of it tonight. Now we go to the US and play the best in the world. There is still a lot of work to do but the future is bright.'
Maybe so, but Anna Patten is suspended for the Nations League promotion play-off against one from Denmark, Belgium, Iceland or Austria, over two legs in October.
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The draw takes place on Friday. Patten was one of five Irish players trying to avoid a second yellow card during a contest where Ireland needed a 4-0 result to top the group. It could have been much worse as Denise O'Sullivan avoided a booking and one-game ban.
Referee Miriama Bočková shows a yellow card to Anna Patten of Ireland. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho
'We have to be tighter,' Ward continued after a campaign that yielded five wins and a 4-0 loss in Slovenia. 'The Irish have always been very good defensively. So, let's go back to the Irish basics, is what I'd call it. And it's just tight, it's compact, it's together. And then add in how we want to play with the ball
'We are still building. Through this entire campaign we have had five training sessions with the entire squad so to finish the way we did, I could not ask for more.
'That was an Irish performance.'
Ward also confirmed that
Katie McCabe
and a number of senior players will not travel to the USA later this month for two friendlies against the Olympic champions in Colorado and Cincinnati.
'Katie has played an awful lot of minutes for club and country,' Ward explained. 'She's on the verge of burnout, as are some others.
'There's going to be conversations. It won't just be Katie that won't be travelling.
'You've seen with Millie Bright at England coming out, mental and physical fatigue is massive. I felt it as [manager of Aston] Villa. It's the reason I needed that break.
'It's a really tough place to be, and I think there's a lot of players close to that. They've played a lot of minutes, so we have to protect them. We have to protect them as people, and we'll support anybody that needs that break.'
Ward confirmed that Louise Quinn has retired after winning her 122nd cap off the bench.
'It's been a really good, but emotional few days for everybody. I think everybody knows, Quinnie's a national sweetheart. She's a legend. She's somebody that everyone admires.
'So, we just had a few words, and she basically just touched on to the next generation - what it'– meant to her to wear the shirt is the proudest thing that you can ever do as an Irish person and make sure that you do not take a single minute for granted because she never did.
'I thought it was an unbelievable message to leave: 'Over to you girls.''
The next generation of players definitely include Jessie Stapleton, Emily Murphy and Abbie Larkin, who all excelled against an aggressive Slovenian side.
Larkin, in particular, looks rejuvenated under Ward.
'Abbie probably doesn't realise how good she is, she is quite a quiet girl. She's got an abundance of quality, she's quick, she started the game electric. She's got a massive future ahead of her. I think her and Emily Murphy today, until they probably blew up because of the intensity they played at, were excellent.'