Emily Whelan on Glasgow landmark and burning Irish ambitions
Emily Whelan's Glasgow City journey reached a new landmark recently.
The Republic of Ireland attacker made her 100th appearance for the Scottish outfit, almost three years after moving north from Birmingham City.
It's been a really positive switch for the 22-year-old, who penned a fresh three-year deal last January that will see her stay in Glasgow until at least 2028.
The league title looks beyond Glasgow City this season - they're three points off Hibernian with two games to go - but seven-times-capped international Whelan is settled and happy there. Success and, ultimately, opportunities to impress for Ireland are the goals.
"I didn't think I was anywhere near that (100-game mark)," she told the RTÉ Soccer Podcast. "It's great to see that I've made that many appearances, it's great that I can do that at a club like Glasgow City. I'm really happy with it.
"I was at Birmingham and it was coming towards the end of the season. I needed to make a decision whether I wanted to stay at Birmingham or move elsewhere. Eileen Gleeson was at Glasgow at the time. She had a call with me and was telling me about the club, I spoke to Laura Montgomery the CEO and she sold it to me.
"They had agreat environment, a great atmosphere.... it's a great place to be."
Whelan was part of a development squad that played against the Ireland Under-19s in a behind-closed-doors game back in February. Trying to dislodge the likes of Kyra Carusa and Amber Barrett from that forward unit is a big ask, but Whelan is among a cluster of strikers making a case to be in the supporting cast. Those development games are an important chance for those on the fringes to show what they can do.
"I think it's a great idea that development squad," Whelan said. "It was great to be part of, I did learn a lot and it bridges the gap between the Under-19s and the seniors. It's great to give people a chance to develop more, get better and then hopefully make that step into the senior team.
"Everyone wants to play for their country. It is so competitive. We have so many amazing players within the national league, the WSL, the Championship - there's so many different leagues where we come from.
"I feel like when you're in on such a roll at your club, you're not really thinking about that, you're just focusing on your club.
"For Saoirse (Noonan) for example, she's been amazing this season (at Celtic). She got the opportunity and she took it. Hopefully I can keep working hard, focusing on scoring goals here, getting minutes and that will help me in the long run."
Whelan began her career at Shelbourne and continues to monitor the SSE Airtricity Women's Premier Division from afar. The standards are going up all the time she says, while in the Ireland setup, the levels are constantly rising.
"From when I was called in (to Ireland) first... it's gone up a while new level, which is great," Whelan added.
"It's great we have such a competitive team. I'm glad that it's competitive, you're working towards something.
"I want to play for Ireland. I want to be there, but I know if I can just focus on Glasgow City right now, do what I can here, hopefully maybe get into more development camps and then make the big step across to the seniors again.
"The main thing is just to what I can here, focus on my results here and playing the best for my team, because if I wasn't here then I can't get there, do you know what I mean?"
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