Six weeks out from the start of the Republic of Ireland’s World Cup qualifying campaign, head coach Carla Ward has a new assistant after the appointment of Gary Cronin. He succeeds Alan Mahon who stepped down from the role last month.
Cronin has had managerial spells with Longford Town and Bray Wanderers in the League of Ireland, having played for both clubs, while also working as an assistant manager with Longford and Bohemians.
The 46-year-old Dubliner is a Uefa Pro Licence holder and has worked with the FAI’s Coach Development team, delivering sessions in their most recent Pro Licence course.
“I’m excited to join the national team at such a crucial time, going into the World Cup qualifiers,” he said. “It is an honour to represent my country at the highest level and to have the opportunity of working with such quality players and experienced staff.”
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“It is brilliant to welcome Gary,” said Ward. “He will bring a new energy, fresh ideas and a proven skill set of coaching elite players. There were a lot of excellent candidates who we spoke with to fill the position, but Gary stood out because of his attention to detail, the positive aura that he emits and his ability to get the most out of players. He is a fantastic addition to our squad.”
After gaining promotion to the top flight of the Nations League, Ireland were drawn in a formidable World Cup qualifying group along with France (ranked seventh in the world), the Netherlands (11) and Poland (24) – Ward’s side are 27th in the rankings.
Ireland begin that campaign against France in Tallaght on March 3rd, before travelling to Utrecht to take on the Netherlands four days later. In the April window they play Poland in Gdansk and then at home, before finishing up in June with the return game against the Netherlands and a trip to Grenoble to play France.
The venues for the second and third home games have yet to be announced.
Head coach Carla Ward says Dubliner has ‘proven skillset of coaching elite players’
