Carla Ward wants creative solutions in tricky Slovenia test

Carla Ward has vowed to "calm the chaos" and coax the best out of her Republic of Ireland players ahead of tomorrow evening's Nations League clash against Slovenia.

Five players missed training on Sunday after Ireland touched down in the city of Koper, while Leanne Kiernan didn't travel, failing to recover from a calf injury. The Liverpool striker has not been replaced in the squad.

Ward is confident she has the depth to find solutions to a lack of creativity that was evident during Friday's laboured 1-0 win against Turkey, and expects Slovenia's more technical approach to actually help her side execute their own game plan.

"The system will never change with me," she told RTÉ Sport's Tony O'Donoghue.

"I have a very clear way of playing, the players can see that. It's trying to continue getting those messages in but we are going to try and look at something that will allow us to create more because we didn't create enough (against Turkey).

"We looked at it, five shots in the first half, none in the second. That's an area that we've focused a lot of our work on the last couple of days both on and off the pitch."

The Slovenians started their campaign with a 2-1 win in Greece. On paper, they are the toughest opponents Ireland will face in League B Group 2, an outfit capable of keeping the ball for long spells.

"Slovenia are a top side," added Ward. "Their age groups are showing that, every single age group is improving in their rankings. The first team are no different. They're a good side, they've got players with Champions League experience.

"But if I'm honest I think this type of game will be better than the game against Turkey. Why? Because you've got two teams who want to play fotball. There will be spaces that open up which