Rhian Wilkinson on taking Wales job, NWSL investigation, and more

New Wales head coach Rhian Wilkinson has today spoke to the press for the first time since being appointed Wales manager.

The daughter of a Welsh mother, Wilkinson spent part of her childhood in and around South Wales, and despite being a Canadian international, always held Wales close to her heart.

Now, she has the opportunity to lead the team, a chance that she is simply overjoyed to have in her grasp.

“I was on holiday when I saw the news that Gemma had left. She and her staff had done such a wonderful job with the team, and I had followed the team closely. When it come up that she departed, I was in Europe at the time, and I couldn’t sleep!

“It was something that definitely interested me straight away and I thought this could be a very exciting move for me. I really am proud to be sitting here and having this special role.”

The two-time Olympic Bronze medallist doesn’t have to wait long until her first game in charge, which will come at the start of April as Wales begin their European qualifiers.

This will be the last chance for many of the team to reach a major tournament, but Wilkinson is confident the team can get to Switzerland without large-scale changes.

“Sometimes, the disappointment of not achieving something and being so close is the catalyst for the greatest change. I’ve experienced it as a player, I’ve experienced it as a coach, and it’s painful and heartbreaking, and it reminds you of how much you want something.

“I got that impression as soon as I met the team, that they are ready. When you talk about a plan, there’s a short-term plan, which is absolutely qualification for the Euros. Part of my vision for that is to make sure we’re all on the same page in terms of clarity and mindset. This team does not need to be completely revamped and redrawn.

“There is a core group of players here who’s visions are clear, and there’s a wonderful group of young players coming behind them and ready to learn. So, it’s all about how best to simplify, clarify, and put them in position to put in great performances consistently. We’ve seen the team at its best, but it’s about how we deliver that consistently.

“If we can do that, qualification is absolutely something we’ll be doing in the next year.”

Who is Rhian Wilkinson and what can Wales fans expect?

Addressing allegations

The one thing that loomed over Wilkinson’s announcement was how she left her previous job at NWSL side Portland Thorns.

Wilkinson departed the then NWSL champions, after an investigation was conducted over a relationship between herself and a player.

The investigation found the Canadian had done no wrong, but the Portland players asked her to leave the manager role.

This is the first time Wilkinson’s has been in a job since the investigation, and she was very open and honest about what happened in Oregon.

“What I went through is very Google-able, and it’s part of my reality.

“I’ve been open about this whole thing because I think it’s important what happened to me, and safeguarding and process is critical to not just women’s football, but for men’s football and sport in general. I was a big part in building the players union in Canada, and I also played a part in building the American one.

“With player safety paramount, what happened to me I think is important, because I came forward when I felt there was something to investigate; I provided all the evidence, was thoroughly investigated, and I followed the process the players themselves had put in place. I was found not to have done anything, however, I think we all know in sport, when you lose the locker room, you really can’t continue. So, I felt it was the right time to step back and to leave that role in Portland.

“It is very public and that’s very painful to have that and to maybe not always say what you want to say to try and support yourself. The most important thing that happened in my previous job was the investigative process, which is critical to our safeguarding, is to make sure people do come forward and that there’s a thorough investigation. That needs to be part of looking after player’s safety. Whenever there is something to investigate that it’s investigated, and I think it will become more normalised.

“Right now, whenever anyone is investigated, they are believed to have done something, and that’s because there has been so much wrongdoing in sport. We hope with more investigations, this becomes a safer place. It has been very hard, but it’s also something I need to talk about and face up to, because it is a lived experience.”

Losing the locker room, as Wilkinson described, is enough to set alarm bells ringing for, potentially, some Wales fans and players.

However, the head coach has said it is right for people to ask questions about what happened.

“I am aware these are the women who are going to be changing the landscape of sport in Wales and I need to have them buy into my leadership.

“I don’t dwell on this past; it is important to talk about it now so that we feel like we’ve all done our due diligence and ask the right questions, and I take the same approach with the players.

“There’s of course opportunities if they want to ask questions or anything, but then we move forward.”

Developing young talent

One critique some fans had about Gemma Grainger was her development of youth players.

Despite calling many new faces to the senior camp, those players haven’t received many on pitch minutes.

As a former youth head coach, Wilkinson has helped bring through some of Canada’s biggest names. While with Portland Thorns, she helped Sophia Smith become one of the best players in the world.

Wilkinson is keen to develop players and wants to visit every corner of Wales to give them reassurances that the pathway is working and available to them.

“I believe in pathways. I was a youth coach before becoming a senior coach. I think I have a pretty good track record of making sure these players are feeling like they have a pathway. The worst thing for a young player is to feel like there’s something stopping them from getting to the very top of their profession.

“You can talk about Sophia Smith and she’s a wonderful player, but before her I helped the pathways of Jessie Fleming, Kadeisha Buchanan, Ashley Lawrence, a lot of these players who are now in the national team. Seeing them coming through is probably one of my proudest achievements, because I saw the talent they had, and they delivered on it.

“I hate the word potential, it really irritates me, because we all have potential in something. You have to have that drive to make something of that potential. So, seeing that in these young players and seeing them achieving what they’re capable of is something I love as a coach, and I want to bring that to Wales.

“I want to work closely with Gemma Lewis and her team. I want to work with them and make sure I’m visible and that I’m getting out to clubs across Wales, not just in the south where I think there’s been a lot more contact. I want to get to West Wales, Central Wales, North Wales, to make sure these young players are feeling like they have a pathway and feel like they have an opportunity to play for the senior team one day.”

Jon Grey to stay on?

One thing Wilkinson will have to sort out soon is her backroom staff.

Asked about whether she wanted to bring her own people in, Wilkinson said yes, but also wanted to keep a good chunk of staff who remain from the Grainger era.

“Gemma Grainger did a wonderful job with this team, and some of the staff that were here have gone to Norway with her. I think for continuity with this team, for as much as possible, I will keep the incredible people that are already here in place. But there are also some gaps that need to be filled.

“I have told the team that I don’t plan on filling them permanently until we find the right person, because they’re a tight group and they’ve had someone leave who’s caused some disruption, and that always happens when a coach leaves, so I want to minimise that.

“We’ve already got into discussions about it, who we’re going to bring in, but they won’t be permanent fills until we find the right people.”

That could mean that Jon Grey stays in the national setup.

Grey won his only game in charge against Ireland, and he certainly has the support of a lot of players. Wilkinson, while not having spoken to Grey, is hoping he stays on with the team.

“Jon is an important part of this staff. I don’t want to speak for him because he isn’t here, but if he wants to stay, I would love to work with him. In the game against Ireland, we saw the connection he has with the players, but we also saw his fantastic coaching ability.

“I haven’t met him yet, but I watched him coach from the stands, and I was really impressed. He made great changes, there were clear tactics, the team look connected. The team had excuses to not play well, but they didn’t.

“They were phenomenal and had a fantastic game under his leadership. I very much hope he wants to stay on.”

Rob Page support

Rob Page and Gemma Grainger had a very good working relationship and often met in and around Wales games to talk about the game.

Wilkinson has revealed Page has already sent a good luck message, and she’s looking forward to building a relationship with her male counterpart.

“Straight away after the announcement was made, I got a text from Rob. He’s a great guy, and I did my coaching badges with the FAW. I’ve gone to a lot of the conferences, and that was such a benefit because I have so many links over here.

“There’s this thing in women’s football right now where we try and pit it against men’s football, but it’s just football. We are Welsh, this is Welsh football, and I love that attitude coming from the men’s side. It’s definitely mine as well and how we can support each other and grow the game together.

“Clearly Rob and Gemma had that mindset, and I hopefully can continue that.”

(Featured Image: Ashley Crowden/FAW)