Tyler Toland dreaming big as journey comes full circle

The captain's armband is a comfortable fit for Tyler Toland, the 23-year-old Donegal native with an old head on young shoulders.

Blackburn Rovers named Toland as their skipper at the start of the Championship campaign and, though wins have been hard to come by so far, the extra responsibility sits lightly on her shoulders.

If growth comes through adversity, then it's little wonder Toland looks so capable of keeping things in perspective. Certainly she's benefited from settling down at Blackburn.

Toland led a nomadic club existence for a few years and endured a four-year international exile after a well-publicised fallout with Vera Pauw.

Left in the cold, Toland watched the World Cup play-off against Scotland two years ago on TV. Now she's aiming to help the Girls in Green make it to a first ever Women's European Championships as they prepare to take on Wales in a two-legged play-off that kicks off in Cardiff this Friday.

"I think it would mean everything, that's the next step for this squad," Toland said as she pondered the possibility of making it to next summer's tournament in Switzerland.

"Obviously, we had qualified for a major tournament in the World Cup but ever since Eilo has come in, the end goal has been to qualify for the Euros and we have a chance to do that this week.

"There can be bad times, there can be good times, but it is just about sticking at it."

"Wales are a very good team as a whole, we are very similarly matched, have players playing at similar levels, and we know that it is going to be a difficult test for us but we are fully confident that we are capable of doing it."

Toland has packed a lot into her young career. That spat with Pauw was messy, with the player's father becoming involved and the manager