TOM ELMES HAS been a long-time supporter of, and advocate for, Kylie Murphy.
A former manager of the legendary Wexford Youths captain, he has spoken about her at length time and time again in the past.
Last season, Elmes made a passionate argument for her inclusion in the Republic of Ireland Women’s National Team [WNT], or wider squad at least.
“She is one of the best players to play in the WNL,” he told the Wexford Youths website.
“All of her attributes would have been essential to any WNT manager and it is unfortunate that she was overlooked over the last number of years. It would be fair to say that even now she could bring something to a squad.
“I definitely don’t think the opportunity has passed. It would be fantastic to see her given that opportunity to progress into the WNT set-up.”
Now, Elmes is involved in that set-up, as Vera Pauw’s assistant manager.
Arguably the best player never to win a senior Ireland cap, 33-year-old Murphy was named SSE Airtricity League Women’s Player of the Year last week after a stunning 2021.
A positional switch from her solid deeper-lying midfield role to centre-forward saw her score 15 goals, and skipper her side to FAI Cup glory once again.
While the Graiguecullen native shook off Elmes’ comments last year in an interview with The42, she said “the feeling that I just didn’t achieve it hurts a little” and feels she deserved a chance, at least.
After one of her best seasons yet, there’s plenty of talk that that could yet come.
As always, she’s on Elmes’ radar, but whether she’s in contention or not is another story.
“It has been always a conversation around Kylie Murphy and you have to look at the qualities that she would bring,” he said yesterday.
“She is a fantastic leader, [has a] wealth of experience and young players benefit from having her around, absolutely. This conversation needs to happen, but I also think what would Kylie get out of it?
“She would be the first to tell you that she is approaching the latter stages of her career now and that step-up into senior international football is a different challenge, altogether.
“Would she go into the environment and do what you would expect her to do or would she have a different idea? That is a conversation to have with Kylie and make sure we are on the same page.”
Also Ireland U16 boss, Elmes stepped away from the Wexford job mid-season to pursue that role with the FAI — “it was difficult to step away but it was for the right reasons, the best thing to do for me” — and was pleased to see Murphy and Wexford lift silverware under Stephen Quinn.
“I was over the moon to see them win the cup at the end of the year and see Kylie get a reward for her performances over the year,” he smiled, having been drafted into Pauw’s senior set-up last month after Eileen Gleeson’s departure.
“She moved into a different position, in a centre forward role and for her to adapt to that and put in the performances she did, to get that reward, was great to see.”
Murphy is one who strikes you as a future coach, perhaps. Her love for the game is unrivaled, her passion and knowledge on another level, and as Elmes says, she has a brilliant way with younger players.
The Birmingham native feels it’s instrumental to get more women, and current players, into coaching, and he thinks there’s some to come from the WNT set-up.
Katie McCabe, Ruesha Littlejohn, Diane Caldwell, Niamh Fahey and Rianna Jarrett are all doing their Uefa B Licence on a female-only course, which certainly bodes well for the future.
“Sometimes people see it’s quite a difficult challenge to manage playing and doing your coaching,” Elmes notes. “I know players who have played for me have done it in the past, and my own partner has done it.
“I did it when I was playing. I pushed on with my coaching badges. It can be a difficult challenge and I’d encourage all the players to have a look at it and if it’s something that interests you, you should definitely pursue it.
“We have some players who are in there now with an abundance of experience and who have played at a really high level. They have played under good coaches and managers and those experiences stand to players who want to move into coaching and management.
𝗦𝗨𝗣𝗣𝗢𝗥𝗧 𝗔 𝗚𝗢𝗢𝗗 𝗖𝗔𝗨𝗦𝗘
— FAIreland ⚽️🇮🇪 (@FAIreland) December 2, 2021
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“At the same time, it’s important to pick up those other skills in terms of how you manage and how you coach and deliver a clear message. That is what our coaching courses are for and what can really help them as well.”
Reflecting on his own journey from Birmingham to Wexford Youths, as a player — he was the club’s first ever League of Ireland goal-scorer — and then a coach and manager, to the FAI now, he smiled:
“Sometimes it feels like a bit of a whirlwind. I only went back into education because of the recession that hit. I was playing and a carpenter when I first moved over. But only for the recession and being out of work, I went back into education, done a sports course and got into coaching and fell in love with it. I really started to enjoy it.
“I was playing for Wexford and doing my coaching badges on the side to a point where I felt coaching was something I probably enjoyed a little bit more. I stepped away from playing and into coaching and have just been taking the steps from there really.
“I think it’s important that male or female you have to appreciate the process that’s involved. You’re not going to jump into a top job straight away. This process can start eight, nine, ten years before you actually get to a position that you actually want to be in.
“It’s important that people recognise that. Even for senior players now playing international football, your first job might be a few steps down the ladder but that is where you have to start and learn and it’s a process and you move forward from there.”
