Since Anna Signeul took over as manager of the Scotland women’s football team in March 2005 the side has continued to make strides up the FIFA rankings, but the Swede, who herself had a successful playing career spanning 20 years, has big plans for the women’s game in her adopted country.

The 45-year-old, who gave up a job as the head of the Swedish youth programme to take over the reigns of the Scotland team following the departure of the hugely successful Vera Pauw, has set a target of moving Scotland into the top 20 women’s teams in the world.

She is unstinting in her belief that the Scots, despite the fact that there is no professional women’s game in the country, can achieve that target.

It speaks volumes that Signeul was unable to hide her frustration following a narrow 1-0 defeat in a friendly match against Finland in September despite the fact that the Finns are currently ranked ten places above her side.

“It’s just so disappointing. It was a bad refereeing decision for the goal. We had two really good chances in the first half and a couple in the second half. It’s disappointing to lose a goal like that. That feels really tough.

“We are improving all the time. When I compare it to the last match we played against Finland we’ve improved so much. We didn’t have a shot on goal in that game.”

While Signeul thinks that her side have the ability to mix it with the best in the world she still has some work to do to instil that believe in the players.

“The players just need to believe in themselves a little bit more. They need to all think ‘I am the player that’s going to decide this game today’ when they go out of the pitch. I want them to feel like anyone can win the game.”

“There are things that we don’t do so well. We are not so strong in heading. We don’t have the tallest midfielders. I can’t make the players grow but there are things that we can do to work around that,” she adds, conceding that there is still a lot of work to be done.

Signeul has also had to battle against the Scottish weather and says that her players are sometimes short of match fitness when their league program is disrupted by the Scottish winter.

“I’d like to see a change of season so there is a winter break as so many games are cancelled over this period, which then causes problems in all areas.

“I don't have so many days with the players so that's why I need to focus on the clubs and develop the structure so they get better at coaching.”

But while her long-term aim is to improve the grassroots game in Scotland her immediate task is to get her side through qualifying for the European Championships.

The campaign got off to a shaky start as they were held to a goalless draw by Portugal, as team they had previously beaten, and went down to a 2-1 defeat in the Ukraine.

And things are about to get tougher as they zero in on a double-header against group leaders Slovakia and Denmark, fresh from their outing at the Women’s World Cup, an event for which Scotland did not qualify.

“It is a really difficult group, a tough draw for Scotland. We have never met Denmark at a senior competition level, they are a new opponent for us who will provide a formidable challenge,” admitted Signeul.

Denmark are ranked in the top ten of the FIFA rankings and Signeul, who has had one eye on the World Cup in China, believes that they are still improving.

“I think Denmark play a very creative midfield game. They’ve taken a step forward. Down here on the pyramid it’s easy to take steps, because if you just do a little bit of improvement you’re ahead of many countries who don’t put much into women’s football, but the higher you get the more other countries put in.”

Only the winner of each group will automatically go through to the European Championships in 2009 but the runners-up will go forward to play-offs for the remaining places at the tournament and, ever the optimist, Signeul hopes her team will be involved in those matches.

“It is a great step forward that more teams feel they can compete. In the World Cup only the winners qualified, it was very difficult, now if you are a runner-up you have a chance. That makes the tournament so much more interesting.”

AW

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