Kenny Shiels: Northern Ireland Women issue strong statement backing manager

Northern Ireland Women captain Marissa Callaghan has issued a statement backing under-fire manager Kenny Shiels.

Shiels was forced to apologise after claiming “women are more emotional than men” while discussing his team’s 5-0 defeat to England.

The 64-year-old was heavily criticised for his comments, with Arsenal legend Ian Wright branding his words “foolish”.

“I felt [England] were struggling a wee bit at times to open us up until the psychology of going 2-0 up in the women’s game,” Shiels said during the post-match press conference.

“I’m sure you will have noticed if you go through the patterns – when a team concedes a goal, they concede a second one in a very, very short space of time.

“[It happens] right through the whole spectrum of the women’s game, because girls and women are more emotional than men. So, they take a goal going in not very well.”

Shiels then issued a statement saying he was “sorry for the offence” caused. But despite the backlash, the manager has been backed by his team.

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“In light of recent events, collectively we stand by our manager,” Callaghan said in a statement.

“We feel his interview was in relation to a meeting we had as a team where we analysed that we concede goals in quick succession and emotions was one of the many things we discussed.

“Since Kenny took over our national team 3 years ago, I have always complimented him publicly on how he can get the best out of his players individually and collectively. He is a man of integrity who cares for us like we are family.”

Shiels became the manager of Northern Ireland in 2019, helping the side qualify for Euro 2022 last April.

It was the first time Northern Ireland Women qualified for a major tournament, with Shiels