SHELLEY KERR has been the manager of the Scotland women’s national team for only six months but already, it is clear to see that she is keen to make her mark. In the latest UEFA rankings, Scotland are in eighth position – the first time they have entered the top ten – and in the current World Cup qualifying campaign, the team have secured two wins from two games.
Things are going in the right direction but Kerr is conscious not to get ahead of herself in any way shape or form. “Personally, I don’t get caught up in the rankings but it’s great for everyone involved that we’ve climbed into the top ten,” she said. “We’re trying to build on the foundations that Anna (Signeul) and her team put in place and we are looking at how we can progress further.
“We have implemented a new philosophy in terms of how we want to play the game and I feel that whether you’re a player or a manager, you have a duty you represent your country so we want to make sure that we have a product that is interesting and exciting for people to come and watch.”
The team’s success, which included reaching their first major finals, the European Championships earlier this year, has raised expectations significantly but having spent much of her life in the elite ranks of football as both a player and a coach, this is something that Kerr is well accustomed to.
However, despite the team’s improvement in recent years, she is under no illusions about how tough qualifying for the 2019 World Cup will be. “No one puts more pressure on you then yourself but what you have to do is focus a strategy,” she said. “Qualifying for the World Cup will be hard but we are very much in with a chance. I think we have the talent to do very well but you have to take in so many factors.
“Our mantra, certainly since I’ve been appointed, is that the ball doesn’t go in the net by chance - you have to have lots of different tactics and strategies to ensure that you sustain your success. I’m a great believer that it is all about the process I’m not looking at how many points we need to get to the World Cup, I’m looking at one game at a time.”
Kerr was speaking in Glasgow as the SFA hosted a UEFA ‘C’ License for female coaches, the first national female-only licensed coaching course in Scotland. While Kerr may be known primarily as the national team manager, she is passionate about growing the numbers of female football coaches and this is something that she intends to give significant energy to during her time in charge of the national team.
“We’re in a unique position in Scotland as a national governing body in that we have three female coaches - we have myself, Pauline Hamill for the 19s and Pauline MacDonald for the 17s,” she said. “Confidence is a big thing coaching and to have the first female C-License course is fantastic because we need to make sure that you have more female role models. And I’ve been really impressed with what I’ve seen on this course.”
Kerr became the first female to take charge of a senior men’s team when she managed Stirling University and while her experience was wholly positive, Kerr’s primary focus is improving the level of coaching in Scotland as a whole rather than attempting to push more women to cross the divide into the men’s game.
“I feel that the more experience you get in different environments the better and it really broadens your skill set,” she said. “But I really feel like it’s up to the individual.
“It’s about getting the quantity up but also improving the quality so that football in general benefits from having good coaches. Over the years, there hasn’t been as much focus on female coach education so this change is great to see.”
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