MacLean, Rodgers and a Plan
In the first of a series of dispatches covering the Scotland Women’s National Team this summer, one that will take in the sights of Hampden, Dundee, Amsterdam, Helsinki and Tampere I take a look at Pedro Martínez Losa’s squad announcement and the strategy behind the call ups of Kirsty MacLean and Amy Rodgers.
I’ve self-funded my trip to Tampere, a combination of belief that the best way to cover SWNT is in person and more than a few summer radlers lying in Queen’s Park. If you want to support this series, that would be ace, and you can do so here (https://ko-fi.com/mersh). No pressure though.
Scotland’s squad announcement for the upcoming friendlies at home to Northern Ireland and away to Finland may not have been as bombastic as if we had booked our place at this summer’s World Cup but there was plenty to talk about as Scotland look to build on the momentum of victories over Australia and Costa Rica ahead of an inaugural Nations League campaign and dates with England, Netherlands and Belgium later this year.
The returns of Rachel Corsie and Erin Cuthbert, both having missed April’s games through injury brought additional familiarity to Pedro Martínez Losa’s squad but it was the call-up’s of midfield duo Kirsty MacLean and Amy Rodgers that brought far greater intrigue, with both players paths to the national side beginning to show the hand of a recruitment strategy that began 18 months ago and that may see more new faces added to the existing pool of 46 players that are consistently on the radar of the Spanish Head Coach and his staff.
“Last year we created a scouting strategy with two aspects to it, “explained Martínez Losa during Tuesday’s press briefing, “one is observation on our own players, we not only watch but we also analyse the players individually. It’s not our job to analyse the formation they are playing in but to consider how the formation or a player’s position could affect them, from there we categorise players and explore what positions we have options in and what positions we have a space in the squad that we want to make stronger.”
That categorisation of talent has been one of the factors that has seen London City Lionesses midfielder, and former England youth international Amy Rodgers, switch allegiances to Scotland. The 23-year-old who can play in defence has been identified as a potential solution to fill the troublesome defensive midfield role, one that no player has been able to make their own since the retirement of Leanne Crichton in 2021 and a key a position as Martínez Losa looks to find a system that will allow the increasingly potent creative instincts of Caroline Weir and Erin Cuthbert to flourish further up the pitch.
“Every position is important”, continued the Spaniard, “but games are played in the middle of the pitch, the demands of the women’s game now means you have to do everything well in one way. So you have to be good defensively. You have to be able to respond to the demands of the game, of the opponent, positional demands, to attack or to defend and also on the ball, which is potentially the most important. As a young player she has a good presence and physicality. We are excited about bringing in a new young player and looking forward to seeing what she’s capable of bringing to the team.”
A brief DM exchange with somebody who has watched Rodgers more regularly this season than I have has drawn comparisons to current England and Barcelona star Kiera Walsh, although the levels at which both players currently operate at do differ. It is however, an opinion backed up by her former Interim Head Coach at London City Nikita Runnacles. The Dartford-based side last week appointed Nicola Williams on a permanent basis following an impressive third-placed finish in the Women’s Championship last term with Rodgers side missing out on promotion to the WSL by just three points.
“Amy’s leadership skills have really helped grow the team,” Runnacles told the London City Lionesses website. “She has orchestrated everything that happens in midfield since stepping back into the position and she’s a really big asset for us and how we play.”
Rodgers qualifies for Scotland through her Glaswegian mother and was apparently keen to join club team-mate Jamie-Lee Napier in the current Scotland set up and it appears that she may not be the last convert to dark blue with Martínez Losa suggesting that he is willing to cast his net far and wide to get the best players available to bring success to the national side, “The first thing I need to have is a strong feeling of wanting to play for Scotland. I don’t want to bring players here who do not want really to play for Scotland and you can tell that after two or three conversations. We will continue to evaluate all routes to improve the team.”
While Rodgers inclusion added intrigue to Wednesday’s announcement that of Rangers midfielder Kirsty MacLean adds an excitement for many who have watched the diminutive midfielder, affectiontiately dubbed as Miniesta by the Glasgow club’s fans, grow in stature over the course of the 2022/23 SWPL season.
The 18-year-old, who has been capped nine times at U19 level, follows in the footsteps of her former Rangers team-mate, Emma Watson although her new coach at international level was quick to alleviate any notion that MacLean will make the same immediate impact that Watson did at the start of her international career.
“The first thing we look at is do we have a player in the youth system that potentially is going to come and can take a spot. Kirsty’s been part of the youth national team pathway and I think she is very, very talented, but I don’t expect an immediate impact on the team. I think we have to all understand what happened with Emma (Watson started and scored twice in her first two appearances for the national side) that’s not usual. I think we all have to protect Kirsty a little and that starts with me because when young players are protected, when they feel safe, they are capable of surprising you and they always look to give you more than than you expect.”
MacLean is not as in-your-face flashy as some but comes equipped with a composure on the ball far beyond her years, she already seems to possess an ingrained philosophy to be progressive in possession while she is the owner Scottish football’s twinkliest toes. The Miniesta nickname is a bit of fun but in tight spaces the similarities are there for all to see and the speed to which she looks to pivot and put her side on the front foot have already become a near trademark to her style of play.
Comparisons with her equally precocious club, and now international, teammate will inevitably come but they are two very different players. Watson’s physical presence and dynamism has helped ease the teenager into the international fold while MacLean (at this stage) is more technically astute and it would be she that would feature more regularly for the Glasgow side last term.
How MacLean begins to find her place in the international set-up will be an important part of her assimilation into the fold. Normally deployed as part of a double pivot at the base of the Rangers midfield alongside the experienced Tessel Middag, she will need to adjust to the way in which Martínez aspires for Scotland to play. “We need to learn about what her role is going to be I think this is one thing that the players in the squad now have developed in the last year”, continued Martínez Losa, “So, for example, Nic Doherty knows what her role is, what we are going to ask her. Of course there will be slightly different things tactically but it provides clarity and confidence because you know what you are coming into the national team set up for.”
“For Kirsty it is about responding to questions during and after camp about what are the areas that need some more work and can we accelerate that quickly; for Rangers she often plays as a number six but usually with another number six around her. One of her main qualities is that she plays very well in between the lines, has a good quality of the pass and she perhaps sees more than other players on the pitch. Maybe is that a role for a number eight, if you want to be a number ten you have to have presence in the box or for scoring goals like Caroline Weir. All these questions we can start to try and answer as soon as she starts training and hopefully we can help her to define more what she does well and that will be the start of a successful career.”
While Wednesday’s squad announcement was about looking ahead, this week was also one for reflection with the passing of Craig Brown, one of Scottish football’s most iconic figures, and Martínez Losa was keen to show his respect to a man he is looking to aspire to in leading a national side to a major championship finals.
Much like Brown, Martínez Losa’s working life started in the classroom, teaching physical education, and like the Scotland great he hopes to use his grounding in the gym halls of Madrid, to help shape the current generation of Scottish talent.
“Football is a learning process for players but also for coaches. Every time you create a new group it is a learning process; about dealing with people, about how you can get the best out of everyone, not just on the pitch. I think we can use sport for many things. For me, sport changed my life, it has something special that can really connect people and you cannot teach any other way. I think those skills are even more important in life than being very good at maths.” Not that there’s anything wrong with maths he is quick to point out.
With the start of the Nations League campaign just three months away, and with the pain of World Cup disappointment a wound still taking time to heal another set of positive results in Dundee and Tampere to follow those against Australia and Costa Rica will build the momentum that can carry Scotland forward into a series of challenging fixtures this autumn.
What the Spanish Head Coach does promise though is that a mantra oft said by Brown is a legacy that he will hope to take into future SWNT dressing room conversations, “I can see and feel obviously what he represents for Scottish football and for the national team but when the person goes we can still keep the memories going. I started today with a sentence which he said that I really identified with, which is about playing the game honestly, that sentence for me will become the mantra of my team, I think it already is but obviously now it is even more important.”
The hope will be that harnessing that honesty, while working with a squad shaped by talents both new and old, can see Scotland continue their new found momentum starting with victory over Northern Ireland in Dundee on the 15th July.
Thanks for reading. Mon eh SWNT. And speak again soon.
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