Denise O'Sullivan refuses to lower great Irish expectations

Denise O'Sullivan has no desire to dampen expectations as the Republic of Ireland head towards a huge 2024.

New ground has been broken over the last 12 months but, rather than satisfy the squad’s appetite, the taste of a first ever major tournament has made them hungry for more.

Ireland failed to make it out of their group at last summer's World Cup, losing narrowly to Australia and Canada before drawing with Nigeria.

Clearly there were off-the-field tensions with boss Vera Pauw, who departed a few weeks after the team came home, but that wasn’t particularly evident in their displays. The Girls in Green were organised and competitive in a tough group, pushing the Aussies and Canadians hard in Sydney and Perth respectively.

Nonetheless, O’Sullivan has admitted she expected more from herself Down Under. It's been a recurring theme among the senior figures since Pauw's exit. They're not content just to reach tournaments; they want to make a genuine impact once they get there.

"I'm very competitive and I do think personally, I could have done better and as a team, we could have done better," O’Sullivan said ahead of Friday’s UEFA Nations League clash against Hungary at Tallaght Stadium.

"I could probably speak for most of the team; they would say that. Going into the Euros [qualifiers], obviously, it's going to be really tough again, but as a group, we're always looking to improve within every game.

"Knowing the potential that we do have in the group, I think we can go on and do good things in the Euros. It’s going to be hugely tough, but as I said, we have exceptional players. It’s probably one of the best squads we’ve had in a long time, so we will want to do better for sure."

The qualifiers for Euro 2025 begin in the spring. By