SCOTLAND coach Anna Signeul is confident that the new two year contract she has signed will coincide with her side finally qualifying for the finals of a major championship.
The Swede, who will have been in the post for ten years next month, has overseen a transformation of the women's game at all levels, but has yet to guide her side to a World Cup or European Championship. The last three attempts saw Scotland eliminated in the play-offs.
"The 2017 Euros, which are being held in the Netherlands, were always the long term target," Signeul confirmed at Hampden yesterday. "This time I am confident we should qualify.
"When I arrived here in 2005 I expected to be in the job for four years. The first game I watched was in Dalkeith, and the pitch was in a worse condition than the field where my brother keeps his cows in Sweden.
"It has often been tough, because women's football was a low priority when I arrived, but I have enjoyed it very much."
Signeul also named her squad for next month's Cyprus Cup tournament, in which Scotland are in the same group as World Cup hosts Canada, Italy and South Korea.
The most glaring absentees are Megan Sneddon, who has been a regular during Signeul's ten years in charge, Lisa Evans and Julie Fleeting.
The last two have fitness issues but Sneddon's Scotland career is in the balance. She was left out of the World Cup play-off games against the Netherlands in October and later criticised Signeul's selection and tactics.
Despite this, Signeul said a return was in the player's hands. "She hasn't returned to training with her club (Rangers) yet," she pointed out.
"It's for her to decide whether she wants to play for Scotland again. She is such a good player that she would definitely have a chance to come back in the squad."
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