Tyler Toland: 'We want to go toe-to-toe with the best'

Arte et labore, says the Blackburn Rovers crest she now wears.

By skill and hard work: It fits perfectly with Tyler Toland's mindset right now.

When Toland met with the club last July, she knew the move felt right.

It didn't take long in the company of Ellis Clarke, the Blackburn Rovers women's general manager, and Simon Parker, the women's head coach, for Toland to feel the fire burning.

Having moved to Manchester City just after her 18^th birthday, Toland spent time at Celtic, Glasgow City and Levante, but it is only in the season just finished that she has both played regularly and felt real progress.

“They valued me, they put their arm around me,” Toland says. “Hearing their ambitions for where they wanted the club to go and them speaking to me as a player and how much they wanted me and what role I would play really attracted me.”

Blackburn finished sixth in the Championship, but were just ten points off winners Crystal Palace.

Toland played 20 League games, all bar two of Blackburn's Championship outings and scored one goal, that against Durham Women.

The St Johnston woman says: “I've had a great run. It's been a great move, Blackburn. The club and the people all believed in me and they gave me the platform to express myself. I got regular minutes and that's what I was seeking.

“I went to Man City and it was a great experience to be at such a top club at such a young age, but now I'm 22 and I need regular game time. This season developed me hugely, getting those minutes has helped get me back on the international stage.

“The mindset of the club has done a complete 360. From being down in the bottom half last season to being in the mix this season. It gives us a great platform to really build for next season.

“We had a dip in the middle of the season, a poor run where we lost a few games we shouldn't have lost. If we had picked up points there, we might have been pushing.”

Tyler Toland. Photo: Joe Boland (North West Newspix)

Toland's move to Blackburn and their Brockhall Training Centre base came just after the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup. Toland was in exile then, after a fall-out with Ireland manager Vera Pauw that escalated into a public spat.

Relations basically soured to a point where Toland, capped 13 times previously having made her debut at just 16 years and 43 days (the youngest player to feature for Ireland at senior level) in 2017 against Northern Ireland.

Pauw's departure paved the way for Toland's return. Eileen Gleeson had hardly sat in the manager's chair when she dialled in with Toland, who came back in style, with a Player of the Match performance in a 3-0 win over Northern Ireland at the Aviva Stadium.

“The first game back was a dream,” Toland says. “At the Aviva, a stadium I went to watch Ireland as a child, getting the win and it was obviously nice to pick up the player of the match award. It was a great night overall.

“To be back in the Irish fold is brilliant. I'm delighted to be back in. I'll work hard, stay as fit as possible and do what I can for the team.”

Toland watched from afar as the Girls in Green performed admirably in Australia, losing to Australia (1-0) and Canada (2-1) and drawing with Nigeria (0-0) on their World Cup debut.

The gaze is very much forward for Toland and the midfielder hasn't spent her time wondering what if.

“It is your country, of course you watch them and want them to do well,” she says. “There was a feeling of wanting to be there, of course. I think that's what drove me on throughout the period that I wasn't there – keeping myself in shape, ticking over and driving to be called up again.”

With Gleeson installed as Pauw's permanent successor, Ireland were handed a daunting draw for the 2025 UEFA Women's European Championship qualifiers.

European champions and World Cup runners-up England, world number three France and Sweden, ranked fifth in the world – it could hardly have been tougher.

Toland insists that Ireland didn't balk. They face a double-header with Sweden, at Aviva Stadium on Friday and the Friends Arena in Stockholm on Tuesday.

Ireland opened with two defeats, although 1-0 to France and 2-0 to England – both of whom Ireland face again next month – was no disgrace.

“We have always said that we want to play against the best teams and players in the world,” Toland insists.

“That's how we have developed and that's how we have improved. That's what we want as a nation and you can only get there by playing against the best and showing what we are capable of as a country.

“We have some incredible players and we need to showcase that to the rest of the world.

“We have put in some good performances and we just want to keep showcasing to the rest of the world that we are here to compete.

“It's not a case that we're here to make up the numbers. We want to show what Ireland can do and we want to push on. This is exactly where we want to be and need to be. We won't improve or test ourselves if we don't play the best nations.”

Swedish midfielder Filippa Angeldahl was at Man City during Toland's time. So, too, were English players Lucy Bronze, Jess Park, Lauren Hemp, Alex Greenwood (all still with City) and Georgia Stanway, now of Bayern Munich.

“We have great players in our team too,” Toland points out, “and we want to go toe-to-toe with the best.”