Latest news with #MichaelMcArdle
BBC News
4 days ago
- General
- BBC News
Andreatta eager to see positives from Austria defeat
Melissa Andreatta is determined to see the positives from Scotland's defeat by Austria as her side prepare for "a massive test" against the Scots head into their final Nations League Group A1 game against the Dutch having already been relegated following Friday's loss at Hampden. The Netherlands are ranked 10th in the world and are looking to bounce back from their own defeat in Germany - a result that means they are now unable to overtake the group have lost all five of their games so far in the Nations League top flight, with second-half goals from Lineth Beerensteyn and Chasity Grant giving the Dutch a deserved win at Hampden in February despite the hosts leading through Emma game was under caretaker Michael McArdle after Pedro Martinez Losa was sacked following the failure to reach this summer's Euro 2025 finals - and Andreatta believes she has already seen areas where her squad can improve."It's just identifying the moments when we want to press or protect, or progress the ball and penetrate," the Australian said."There's going to be moments in the match where it doesn't go right, but that's where we are right now."We took a lot of learnings from [Friday] and now what we want to do is close this campaign and then, after that, look ahead to a new start in our next camp."
BBC News
04-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Scotland 0-4 Germany: What McArdle said
Scotland interim head coach Michael McArdle: "It was a sore scoreline but I'm very proud of how the girls played. "They were brave, we had a high block, we didn't want to sit back and give them too much space, so very brave in that sense."There's lots of positives that I'm sure we'll reflect on as the days go by but at the moment the scoreline hurts. "Results matter, the League A goes on, the pressure comes more to the Austria game at the end of it. It's about believing, sticking by it. "It's a transitional moment, there's a lot of young players there. Not winning games hurts but that pressure and expectation is a reward for the progress, it's a reward for being in League A and it's part of the journey. "There will be results in the future because of the young players we're bringing through at the moment."
BBC News
27-03-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Scotland playing long game in bid to narrow gap to elite
Scotland interim head coach Michael McArdle insists the experience of playing elite sides is the only way for the national team to narrow the gap to the lie in wait in early April at Tannadice in the first of a double-header in Nations League Germans are ranked second in Europe and third in the world rankings, clearly presenting a formidable test as Scotland seek their first points after beginning the group with defeats by Austria and Netherlands."We've earned the reward of League A, so it's perfect for us now to go out and test yourself against that level," McArdle said after revealing the return of Chelsea midfielder Erin Cuthbert for these fixtures."Testing yourself against the best, especially for our younger players, it's perfect for us to play and see those benchmarks."You see the difference between League B and League A. You'll get 30% to 50% less chances in and around the box. The opposition will have more against you and it's about that clinical action on both boxes."The only way we're going to progress to the highest level is playing them more often."Recent results suggest Scotland will struggle to avoid dropping down to League B after this cycle but McArdle insists if that happens, they will be better equipped to deliver at that level."Absolutely, you've got to be accountable to that and that pressure is always a reward for how well you're doing," he added."If that was the outcome, then you have to then use that to dominate within, but also that's the last cycle before the [Euro] play-offs. Obviously, opportunity for qualification. So it's about hitting rhythm at that point as well."
BBC News
25-02-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'A positive week for Scotland'
Scotland captain Caroline Weir says it's been a positive week for Scotland, despite back-to-back Nations League defeats.A 1-0 defeat away to Austria was followed by a 2-1 loss at home to the Netherlands, despite Scotland scoring the first goal, as interim head coach Michael McArdle took charge of his first games. "We knew it was going to be tough," the midfielder said. "I thought we did well in the first half and created chances. It's small margins at this level. I'm proud of the team. The effort was there and we can take a lot of learnings from that."Credit to her [Emma Lawton] and all the other young players, they're taking their chance. It's never easy but we can see they are talented and really want it as well. As older players we've tried to show our experience."It's been a positive week. We don't want to look too far ahead. Overall it's positive and we'll go again next camp."
BBC News
24-02-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
McArdle on first steps, huge strides made & the Netherlands
Michael McArdle addressed the media before Scotland's first home game in the Nations League against the Netherlands on Tuesday are the key things he said:Reflecting on Friday night's defeat in Austria, the interim head coach said there were "plenty positives behind-the-scenes as the massive, blind, first steps in a new journey" were "wasn't a pretty game" but Scotland "lacked the clinical edge in both boxes".Easier to keep the positivity up despite defeat due to debutants and fresh faces who "don't carry any burden from previous experiences".McArdle expects a "difficult game against a top nation" and expects to "suffer without the ball". He added "Structurally," it's very important on Tuesday to gain any control."Self-belief" is key to Scotland finally being able to end their struggle in front of goal, and having a "determined, clarity of mind" when faced with goal. The interim head coach believes "huge strides" have been made in doing that.
