REPUBLIC OF IRELAND midfielder Ruesha Littlejohn has hailed Eileen Gleeson’s managerial tenure to date.
Gleeson’s unbeaten run came to end after a 2-0 defeat to Wales in front of a record crowd at Tallaght Stadium on Tuesday. Jess Fishlock and Lily Woodham scored within 22 minutes on a night to forget for Ireland.
It was their first loss in nine games — since the 2-1 reversal to Canada at the World Cup last July. Gleeson oversaw a 100% record in League B of the Nations League as she succeeded Vera Pauw on an interim basis, before an impressive 0-0 friendly draw away to Italy in her first game as permanent head coach last Friday.
“Really good” Littlejohn says of Gleeson’s management so far. The Dubliner is assisted by Colin Healy, Emma Byrne and Rhys Carr, with performance coach Ivi Casagrande among the other prominent figures in the set-up.
“I’ve really enjoyed it. Eileen’s got a very good group of staff around her, a lot of experience. It’s probably something we’ve been crying out for, so it’s really good. She’s great at delegating, great at letting people do their jobs and we’ve got access to everything we need now.
“It’s actually a high performance environment, everyone coming in, that’s the way it should be in international football. We’ve been crying out for a long time and we’ve finally got that so all of us players, we need to keep working, keep pushing and getting better.”
Littlejohn was a bright spark on a dismal night in Tallaght on Tuesday. She gave a battling performance in midfield, playing her first 90 minutes for Ireland since the World Cup.
The London City Lionesses star’s Achilles is “hanging on by a thread” following four years of managing a recurring injury and playing through the pain barrier.
“That’s football. It’s not all plain sailing but we go again,” she reflected on a disappointing final outing before the Euro 2025 qualifiers which kick off in April. The draw takes place next Tuesday, with Ireland among Europe’s elite in League A.
Littlejohn, 33, also offered insight on the tactical side of the Wales game. After Friday’s positive 0-0 draw away to Italy, Gleeson re-deployed a back four and changed formation to a fluid 4-3-3.
The midfield struggled through a dreadful first half: Denise O’Sullivan’s absence was keenly felt amidst a litany of other injuries, and the visitors always seemed to have an extra body in the middle third.
“I think that’s on us. Our press, in the first half, we were trying to figure out how we could work it better. I was kind of operating in the left pocket and out of possession, it was a struggle for me to get over to the right-hand side and we had to push Jess Stapleton up a wee bit higher.
“There were a few changes. Jess and Megan Connolly have both been playing centre back at club level. I’ve been playing deeper at club and I’ve been playing a bit higher. Denise O’Sullivan, who never misses a game, gets injured. Sometimes you plan a certain thing and it doesn’t always go that way and you’ve got to adapt during the game.”
Gleeson tried that at half time, reverting to a more familiar back three/five — 3-5-2 — with Louise Quinn returning from a shoulder setback to steady the ship in defence and Megan Connolly also dropping back. Littlejohn, however, says Ireland can continue the back four experiment, with basic improvements.
“We need to get better. We always know we can go back to the five, we know we’re good at that, we’ve done it for years. But if we want to get better, and start to become a better team in possession, we have to change shape, we have to change formation.
“As players, we have to go away and work really hard. It sounds stupid, but we have to become comfortable on the football, be comfortable on the football under pressure. And problem solve.”
“It’s not going to be an overnight success,” she added. “We’ve been playing a certain formation for a long period of time. We’ve got a lot of young players coming through and that’s exciting and they’re all working hard and playing overseas and trying to get better.
“And if we want to get better, that’s what it will take and it’s going to take a bit of time. So just because it didn’t go well tonight, it doesn’t mean we just pack it in and quit. We keep working. And we know we can still go back to the five if we need it.”
