'Nasty' McCabe can be a hit at Chelsea, says Dutch captain

Dominique Janssen has described McCabe as a winner. Pic: Tom Maher/Inpho

Netherlands captain Dominique Janssen admits her Ireland counterpart can be ‘nasty’ but has tipped her to be a hit at Chelsea.

Janssen was a teammate of McCabe during the early stage of her spell at Arsenal, which has this week ended after a decade by her move to deadly rivals Chelsea.

Friday evening sees the ex-colleague renew acquaintances at Pairc Uí Chaoimh.

Just two points divide them in the table and both nations in the hunt for direct World Cup qualification with two games remaining.

“I would describe Katie as a winner, someone who does everything for her team to get a result,” said the veteran Manchester United centre-back.

“Sometimes she can be nasty but you need that in football. People don’t like playing against her but I’m curious to see how the move to Chelsea goes because the journey is exciting.

“It’s been a few years since I played on her Arsenal team but she’s developed a lot in her leadership skills. I hadn’t seen that but have as Ireland captain and being a big part of Arsenal’s successes. She’ll be a big player for Chelsea.” 

Ireland boss Carla Ward has narrowed the pitch in an attempt to stifle the impact of the Dutch dangerous wingers Esmee Brugts (Barcelona) and Lineth Beerensteyn (Wolfsburg) but the visiting manager feels their quality can be decisive. It took a late goal by Beerensteyn eight weeks to clinch a 2-1 win in Utrecht.

“It’s easy to say that we can win two games,” said manager Arjan Veurink, installed after last year’s disappointing Euro group stage exit.

“But I think we’ve gained a good bit from our the process so far. We've always focused on us, our style of play and our development.

Janssen added: “Since Arjen has been the head coach of the national team, we've been in the process.

“He has a clear way of how he wants to improve us and I think that every window that we are together, we are making steps.

“You can just tell in training that it's just getting better and better. So I hope tomorrow we can again, you know, have a good plan and execute it properly.

And, of course, we want to get the three points tomorrow.”