Carla Ward: 'I want to be here and I want to get to a World Cup, that's my number one goal'
Emma Duffy
CARLA WARD WANTS to extend her stay as Republic of Ireland women’s head coach, and is hopeful of contract negotiations opening “when the time is right”.
“I love being here, I love my job,” Ward, who is contracted until the end of the 2027 World Cup qualifying campaign, insists.
Heimir Hallgrímsson recently signed a new deal until 2028, and the focus now shifts to his female counterpart.
The former Aston Villa and Birmingham City manager has been linked with English club jobs during her time in charge, and she revealed last year that she turned down a WSL offer.
Her name has recently been mentioned around Manchester United circles, where Marc Skinner is reportedly under serious review by club officials amidst a poor run.
But Ward insists she is “really happy” with Ireland.
“Look I’ve obviously seen certain headlines and I was asked about it this morning as well, ‘Would I? Wouldn’t I?’” Ward said yesterday as she named her squad for the upcoming double-header against Poland.
“I want to be here and I want to get to a World Cup, that’s my number one goal. I want to get to the World Cup and that has to be our focus right now.”
The 42-year-old did admit, however, that her contract situation was in the back of her mind amid talk of bigger picture development.
“Football is football. You know that at any point, football changes very quickly. I’m under no illusion that football changes quickly.
“I think you all know I love being here, I love my job. I think it’s very clear that we’ve come a long way since I’ve been in the post. Do I want to continue that work? Yes of course.
“Hopefully when the time is right, John (Martin, FAI Director of Football) will knock on my door and we’ll have a conversation.”
Of immediate concern is the Poland double-header, which begins in Gdańsk on Tuesday 14 April before the return tie at Aviva Stadium the following Saturday afternoon.
After opening with a pair of 2-1 defeats to heavyweights France and Netherlands, Ireland’s ultimate path through the play-offs looks likely to hinge on these results: finishing third in this group would secure a play-off semi-final against League C opposition, whereas finishing fourth would bring higher-ranked League B teams into play.
Poland are eyeing up the exact same scenario, though they hold the upper hand after their Dutch draw, meaning Ireland likely need four points here to finish third.
“I would suggest that would put us in a very good position,” said Ward. “But I’m ambitious, I want to get points from all the games, there is four games left. I think we’ve shown in the first two games we can definitely get points from anybody.
“Would four points put us in a nailed on third? You would argue because that would mean Poland would have to go and get five points. Look, we’ve got to try and get points from all four games.”
