Wales interim manager Jon Grey has spoken of his pride, as he looks ahead to tomorrow night’s friendly against the Republic of Ireland.
Grey took to the helm after Gemma Grainger’s departure and will lead the side in Tallaght on Tuesday. Despite this being a new role and new environment for the Swansea-born man, he is delighted with what he’s experienced over the past week.
“I’ve loved it. It’s a little bit different to the role I usually do, with regards to being around the media. But for me, I’m just so grateful for how the girls have been with myself, how much they seem to respect me in what they do, and I can only thank them for that.
“It’s a real honour and a privilege to lead this group on this camp. It’s something that you dream of as a little kid that you can be involved with your country and to actually do it now is like a dream come true.”
His captain Sophie Ingle was also full of praise for Grey and says it’s been good to have someone from the Grainger era to help out during this camp.
“He’s been great. I think obviously having him under Gemma for the last couple camps, he knows what it is to be Welsh, he knows how important it is for us to continue to improve and to be better every single camp. I think he has come in and just been great for us.
“He’s just thrown confidence at us and wanting us to play football. He holds us accountable; he doesn’t care if we make mistakes, and I think that’s a really good start for us.”
Youngsters impact
There have been plenty of new faces involved during this latest camp, with five U19s and three U17s either being part of or been drafted into camp for a couple of days, and Grey has been pleased with how they’ve adapted to the senior team lifestyle.
“They were a little bit nervous at first but the squad as a whole are a real good bunch of girls and they’ve made them feel welcome, integrated them into the Welsh family seamlessly.
“We’ve also had three U17s come in and have a couple of days with us at the beginning of the week, which was really positive.
“They hopefully had a fantastic experience with us and it’s really good that we integrate these players into the pathway to make that transition from their age group sides to the seniors as seamless as possible.”
Ingle has also praised the talent coming through, hailing their inquisitive nature, and always wanting to do better.
“They are a lot more confident, which is nice to see, they don’t hold back, they got stuck in at training. They’re asking questions and you can see that they want to learn, which is great for us as a senior team.
“It’s good for them to see what level they need to get to, but also for us, to welcome them into this team and give them that little bit of experience that they might need.”
Ireland test
The first challenge of 2024 facing Wales will come in the shape of the Republic of Ireland.
The Irish qualified for their first ever major tournament last summer and also gained promotion to League A of the upcoming Nations League. It’s fair to say the Emerald Isle is on a high, and Grey is under no illusion about how tough the matchup will be.
“They’ve got some real fantastic players; they’ve done really well, and they’ve got that model that we want to do – we want to qualify for a major championship, and they’ve just done it in the World Cup.
“They’ve made that step once and they’re probably looking to do it again. They’ve had a great Nations League campaign where they won every match and have been promoted.
“It’s a real good test for us again tomorrow to play against a top opponent who have some fantastic players.”
The first name that will jump of the team sheet for fans of football everywhere will be that of Katie McCabe’s. The Irish captain is known for her excellent leadership and her no-nonsense style of play.
Ingle has faced up against her numerous times when Chelsea have battled against Arsenal and knows exactly what makes her tick.
“She leaves everything on the pitch, I think that’s the main thing about her.
“She crosses that white line, and she doesn’t care who she plays if she knows you or not, she’s going to do everything she can to win.
“At the top level, you have to be ruthless, and I think that’s the main strength of hers.”
Wales face off against the Republic of Ireland tomorrow night (27/2/24) at Tallaght Stadium in Dublin. Kick off is at 7:30pm and will be live to watch across the BBC.
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