Carla Ward: 'It is work in progress and that’s why I keep saying to the players to start now'

WORK IN PROGRESS: Head coach Carla Ward building foundations of what she wants her Ireland team to play like. Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

In the serene surrounds of Koper Cabana, the glamour of the Copacabana is driving Ireland under Carla Ward.

The snakes and ladders nature of women’s qualification cycles decrees Ireland are the team being hunted.

They reflected their supremacy in 2023, only to be levelled in the upper echelon last year – bar an epic finale at Pairc Uí Chaoímh.

All that matters is the endgame. Whereas the seed weighting presented Ireland with a task of beating Wales to reach the Euros, which they squandered, the path to Brazil in 2027 is treacherous.

Tonight will be the first lurking landmine. Slovenia are a team on the rise, a golden generation according to their manager, and the nearest of the three group opponents to Ireland in terms of ranking.

Notionally at least, this second game of six against a side 14 spots behind them in Fifa’s listing is the toughest Ireland will face in the campaign.

Despite Ward’s first outing on Friday – a scruffy 1-0 win over Turkey - being underwhelming, there was mitigation. None will be tolerated today, even if player of the match Denise O’Sullivan feels it could take a year, right up to the qualifiers kicking off next February, for the team to be assimilated into the Ward’s methods.

“I hadn’t heard Denise’s answer but I love it,” said Ward.

“It is work in progress and that’s why I keep saying to the players to start now. We have two-and-a-half years until the World Cup but we can instil a way of playing now.

“I read something which said we haven’t seen what a Carla Ward team looks like. Well, you’re not going to after day one. But what you will see are moments of it.

“And the more we can build those foundations the better. Hopefully it doesn’t take a year. But if it does, it does. And we’ll be in a good position then.” 

Changes are guaranteed. Heather Payne, the youngest of an old Ireland team at 25, is among those doubtful but Slovenia are a different challenge to Turkey.

They proved their potential during the last World Cup qualifiers, by pushing the aristocrats of France to narrow victories, and their manager and players consider this Ireland visit as a means of making a statement.

“Turkey tried to make it ugly on Friday whereas this will be two teams trying to play,” surmised Ward.

“Slovenia should have won by more than 2-1 in Greece.

“They’re a good side that want to attack but, in doing so, leave open spaces to transition on. There will be moments we can thrive on too.” 

Amid all the debate surrounding Katie McCabe’s optimal position, this Ireland boss shut down arguments early by declaring her a left-back within her system.

That doesn’t mean the Arsenal schemer – who was knocked out of last season’s Champions League by a Paris FC side featuring Slovenian Kaja Korošec – won’t be afforded license to probe.

“You might see me trying something with a certain couple of players that I believe will allow us to create more”, Ward suggested.

“We’ve alluded to it a lot before that we’ve got a couple of players that can be more aggressive and if we can get those into better positions.

“That gives us a chance. So experiment we will but we have to have the right balance throughout the game.” 

Although Ireland are favourites, Ward indicated a point wouldn’t be a disastrous outcome. None of Northern Ireland, Armenia or Hungary from the last Nations League pool that delivered a maximum eight points are of the calibre Slovenia possess.

“We showed against Austria that we are able to play against big teams and hopefully we can surprise some teams,” vice-captain Korošec said about their Euro playoff defeat.

“From last year, we’re trying to play good football to attract more fans. Beating Ireland would make a statement, convincing fans we can do it.

“I’ve seen the Ireland matches having big crowds and maybe we can get there soon.” 

Around 500 supporters are expected inside the quaint arena. Slovenia have yet to be trusted by their prospective audience. For Ireland, their mission to regain trust can’t afford the setback of having European sand kicked off their faces.