Will NI’s manager search damage World Cup dream?

Northern Ireland Women are yet to begin their 2027 World Cup qualifying campaign without a manager, which is less than seven weeks away.

The Irish Football Association is currently accepting applications until Friday, January 23rd, just 37 days before their opening game, which will be played on Tuesday, March 3, in Switzerland.

After two years in charge, Tanya Oxtoby stepped down as Newcastle United Women’s manager on November 20.

The IFA announced eight days later that they had “started preparations” to find her successor, but they have not made much progress since then, almost three months.

Given that the World Cup qualifying campaign has only six games left before May, it is very worrying for NI.

The ideal candidate would have a base in either the UK or Ireland, according to the job description, and they “will be tasked with inspiring and training elite players to compete internationally and contribute to shaping the future of women’s football.”

They must also “take the senior women’s team’s next step in its development and build on recent advances” respectively.

The choice candidate will have the task of hitting the ground running given their short lead in time for their first competitive game, but what is left out is.

With a squad that had an average age of 24.8 in their previous game against Iceland in October and when the domestic-based players haven’t played since last year, that is easier said than done especially in international football.

In March, April, and May, NI will play home and away qualifiers against Turkey, Malta, and Switzerland.

Similar rules apply to the Nations League, which will take place in Brazil in 2027.

Only the top four League A winners will automatically advance to the finals, with the rest of the teams having to compete in the play-offs for the final eight spots.

They must avoid finishing third in their group in order for NI to win a play-off.

In their last five games, Turkey are unbeaten while Malta held NI to a 0-0 at Windsor in Euro 2025 qualifying, and Switzerland reached the quarter-finals of the previous year’s Euros.

The next manager will be a real baptism of fire playing against the Swiss away first, which is arguably the strongest team in the group.

Because Simone Magill is expecting her first child, the new boss will miss her as the team’s top scorer and captain for this campaign.

In the interim, they will be required to choose a captain, update their roster quickly, and select a replacement captain from the pool of players.

For a rundown of the players and the state of the game in NI, the next manager might also need to draw on Gail Redmond’s experience from Under-17 and Under-19.

Although NI has been without a manager for almost three months, Oxtoby’s appointment as Kenny Shiels’ replacement in 2023 is not far behind.

Oxtoby was appointed as the new NI manager in August of the same year, almost seven months after Shiels left in January 2023.

The Australian’s quick preparation time for her first game, a 3-0 Nations League defeat by Republic of Ireland in Dublin on September 23 was short, like who came next.

By the beginning of December, she had already won six of her previous Nations League games, and the outcomes were mixed.

The Irish were “two or three years” ahead of her team in terms of development, according to Oxtoby at the time, with two victories against Albania, a draw against Hungary, and a crushing 6-1 defeat at home against the Republic.

Northern Ireland feel like they are at a crossroads after two years, having to redevelop under the direction of a new manager with fresh ideas at a crucial time in the international cycle.

The Republic, who are currently in their second year under Carla Ward, have a good chance of winning two World Cups and have a new approach to play under their manager.

Given the squad’s youthful nature, it has always seemed like NI would start this qualifying campaign too soon.