CONSISTENCY AND A lack of complacency are the two things that Carla Ward is looking to instill in the Ireland squad ahead of two crucial games against Poland in their bid to qualify for the 2027 World Cup in Brazil, according to Aoife Mannion.

The last international window saw the squad put in strong performances against world heavyweights France and Netherlands but the lack of points on the board – while their closest rivals Poland managed to snatch one – means that this international window carries a lot of weight for Ward and the team.

“A big thing about these next two games that Carla’s trying to implement in us in our meetings is not being complacent,” Mannion said. “Just because we’ve had two really good performances, not assuming that that’s just naturally going to continue. We have to foster that fighting spirit to put on a good performance again, but crucially to try and get points.”

On paper, it seems like a big feat to repeat the performances that the side put in in the last window such was the emotion behind them but a feeling of confidence that there’s more to come from this team has been growing. The disappointment, particularly after the game in Utrecht, was palpable both on the pitch when the final whistle blew and in talking to the players after. There was a strong feeling in the group that they could and would do better.

“It’s really hard moments, little fine moments and instances can really define the result and that’s then what we remember as footballers,” Mannion said.

“When we then go away and watch the game back and we’re in the meetings, we’re trying to focus on performance because that’s all that we can control. And then sometimes you do need a little bit of the rub of the green, a little touch of luck. France had this unreal goal line save in one of the last moments of the game. On a different day the girl’s not there and it goes in her net. But it’s all ifs, buts and maybes. And for us it’s just trying to keep calm, trying to keep consistent, trying to do what we’ve practised in training, trusting the process that the results will come.”

When announcing her squad Ward described these coming games as like a playoff for the playoff. It’s the window that players and fans have been looking to since the group was announced. That brings its own added set of pressures but Mannion was defiant that the team wasn’t going to change their approach or let the outside pressures affect their outlook on the game.

“I think it’s a similar approach to what we had in the last round of games against France and Netherlands. We’ve got to take the fight, we’ve got to have high expectations and we appreciate what’s on the line and we appreciate what two good results could do for us in terms of helping us with our run into World Cup qualification. So we get that, we understand the pressure and it’s our job to try and rise to the occasion,” she said.

When it comes to rising to the occasion, Emily Murphy was the name on everyone’s lips after the last window where she put in two Player of the Match performances. A teammate of Mannion’s at Newcastle United, she was full of praise of the development that Murphy has shown in recent camps.

“She’s obviously a really young player. But in many ways, she’s way beyond her years,” she said. “Her hold up play is really good. She’s really energetic and sprightly. Emily really suits having lots of space around her. So in terms of being a classic end player where you’ve got defenders that might be quite flat or quite deep, you can get the ball, you can play it to her, she can hold up, bring other people into play or run down the line.”

That energy will be needed throughout the squad as Ireland travel to Gdansk on April 14th before returning to the Aviva on April 18th. Mannion is looking forward to having the second leg in front of what she expects to be a big Irish crowd and is hoping that they will help Ireland get over the line.

“Yeah, it’s a massive help to have the second game at home,” she said. “I feel like we put our best foot forward when we’re at home. Certainly that was the case against Belgium in that doubleheader. And then we started the game so well against France and I personally believe that was partly because it was at home. So I’m really looking forward to hopefully setting out our store with a good performance, please God some points and then coming into that home leg at the Aviva.”