WILLIE Kirk has, by his own admission, taken a leap of faith in leaving his job as head coach of Bristol City. Having guided the FA WSL1 club to an eighth-placed finish last season, he has decided the time is right for a fresh challenge.
The landscape of English women’s football is changing rapidly; increasingly money is dictating which clubs will be successful. It is an exciting, if exacting, environment which former Hibernian head coach Kirk has witnessed from close quarters for the last three years, and his first instinct is to remain south of the border.
Which is a blow for those who like their conspiracy theories. The 39-year-old’s resignation on Tuesday was followed 24 hours later by David Haley stepping down at Celtic. But unless the Glasgow club are prepared to take women’s football in Scotland on to a different level in pursuit of regular Champions League football, their manager’s job is unlikely to appeal to any coach accustomed to jousting regularly with Chelsea, Manchester City and Arsenal.
“My first choice would be to stay in England,” Kirk says, “but I’m open to going abroad. I would also consider a No 2 role at the right club, which is not something I’ve really thought about in the past.
“It was a good time for me to move on. It has been a very enjoyable, but very tiring, three years in terms of what we’ve been through. I felt it was in the best interests of the club to make a decision sooner rather than later.
“The standards have shot through the roof in WSL1 as you can see from the top players coming in from other countries. It was also a huge statement when Kim Little came back to Arsenal from America, because she was on a good contract at a big club.
“Liverpool were the first team in England to go full time. That kick-started Chelsea and Arsenal into action. Then Man City came in and completely changed the face of the game.”
In considering his future options, Kirk had to weigh up how the latest restructuring in England might impact on Bristol. The west country club and neighbours Yeovil will be the poor relations in an expanded 11-team league which will now include West Ham and Brighton.
Head coaches are judged on results as Kirk, who guided Bristol to promotion in 2016, is all too aware. Additionally, Manchester United have finally fully embraced the women’s game and will be odds-on to be promoted to the top tier the following season – even if, as expected, they do appoint former England captain Casey Stoney, a novice at this level, as manager.
The FA restructure has attracted criticism, and not least because sporting merit was overlooked at the expense of whether or not clubs can meet tougher criteria. Nevertheless, Kirk believes it is the best way to further grow the game in England.
“Man United coming in was massive, because if they do something they do it properly,” he says. “I think that was the last piece of the jigsaw.
“You never want to see clubs being promoted or demoted through non-competition, but in terms of growing the game, and continually pushing the standards up, I agree with the changes.
“The target for Bristol will be to survive in the top flight next season – but if you go from eighth to 10th, and even although you’ve achieved your objective of staying up, it might still look like a backward step. Even although I was confident of moving the club forward, you’re doing it in a game which is growing so quickly.”
Kirk is in no doubt that the best young Scottish players need to move south, not just to receive money for their efforts, but also to develop. Had he stayed at Bristol, it is likely that some personnel from his old Edinburgh club would have moved in that direction this summer.
“The top young players in Scotland are mostly wearing a Hibs jersey right now,” he says. “That’s a credit to the club, but I’m sure also a scary prospect for them.
“If you’re winning a national final 9-0, I don’t think it’s going to develop you as a player much longer. It’s a shame, because for me there should be at least three teams in Scotland challenging for the honours.
“How many full-backs give Lizzie Arnot a right hard time? How many wingers give Kirsty Smith a hard time? If these players want to be in the national team they’re not the finished article so they need to keep developing – unlike a Hayley Lauder who has probably done all her development and is playing through experience now.”
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