I’ll always try and make the case for women in sport whenever I can, but I must admit I’m not sure a female football manager in the men’s game is going to work.
Helena Costa getting a manager’s job in the French second division is a big deal, and I really hope it works out.
If you were to look at her CV and you didn’t know who she was, or what sex she was, you would say she is definitely qualified for it.
She’s worked at Chelsea when Jose Mourinho was first in charge, she’s worked in international football, academy football and scouted for Celtic.
I’ve got no doubts that her knowledge of the game will be first class.
It’s something you see in curling it’s often the women coaches who are the best with the technical side of the game.
But in curling, the women’s and men’s games aren’t as poles apart as women’s and men’s football are.
For right or wrong, I just can’t get away from the fact that professional football is such a male-orientated sport.
You always hear of male managers who struggle in the “show us your medals” culture of top level football..just look at David Moyes at Manchester United.
So, imagine how much harder it will be for a woman.
More than her ability to do the job, her success will depend on whether the players respect and accept her. Simple as that.
It’s one thing putting out a team that picks itself, like in curling, but another when you’ve got to do everything that goes with a football manager’s job. There are so many more responsibilities.
If she is successful it would be one of the biggest barriers in sport broken down.
One thing’s for sure, there will be a bit more attention on her than your average French second division manager.
* The search has begun for a new fourth member in our team.
Claire has decided against carrying on for another four years and we’re probably looking at a choice between about three people to replace her.
We’ll take advice and recommendations from our coaches but it will be pretty much up to us to decide in the end.
We haven’t had the chance to get together to chat about it between the three of us but we won’t leave it too long because it’s important we have the new girl in place in good time to prepare for the new season.
It will take a big commitment it’s four years you’re signing up for.
It’s not essential that we get someone who plays in Claire’s lead position, because we’ve got four years to mould her into that. But being a good front-end player and a strong sweeper are basic requirements.
Almost as important as the skill level though is integrating well into the team.
Curling isn’t like a lot of sports where you don’t see much of each other away from the competition.
We do so much travelling that we live out of each other’s suitcases.
But, when you think about it, it will be a fantastic opportunity for someone.