'The treatment of the team is a lot better. The FAI back us now'

Ruesha Littlejohn pictured at the Ireland media day earlier this week. Image: Ryan Byrne/INPHO Ruesha Littlejohn pictured at the Ireland media day earlier this week. Image: Ryan Byrne/INPHO HAVING MADE her debut back in 2012, Ruesha Littlejohn is one of the most experienced players in the current Ireland squad.

“I’m just happy I’m back fit,” she says. “It’s just managing my Achilles, that’s fine, that’s the way it is now. Sometimes you get carried away and you need to rein yourself in. You can’t train that day or you can’t do that part of the session. As long as I’m fit for game days, I’m happy with that. For now, though, the focus is on international duty. Littlejohn missed the opening two qualifiers through injury, and came off the bench amid the 1-1 draw with Slovakia, before being handed a start in the record-breaking 11-0 win over Georgia. So has she done enough to retain her place in Vera Pauw’s side next Tuesday?“We’ll obviously go to training and see what kind of team she thinks is going to be best,” Littlejohn replies.

Littlejohn has seen plenty of talented footballers in the 10-years-plus since her first call-up, namechecking former Arsenal trio Emma Byrne, Ciara Grant and Yvonne Tracy — all of whom she also played with during a brief spell with the Gunners in 2010 — as Ireland stars she would have looked up to in the early days.

“I think what we can say is the game has grown. We could say the treatment of the team is a lot better. The FAI back us now, they support us. We feel they care about us now. We’ve got that bit of respect now. It’s nice to have. We’re all working towards the dream of qualifying for a major tournament. So it’s nice to know that we’re supported and we’re valued.”

“It’s funny — when I first came into the team, I think I was about 20, 21, I used to look up to the older girls and I used to think: ‘They’re so much older than me.’ Now, I’m actually the old one, but I don’t feel old.

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