Lindsay to take interim charge of NI in qualifiers

Northern Ireland have appointed Kris Lindsay as interim manager for their first pair of 2027 Women's World Cup qualifiers in March.

Tanya Oxtoby left the post to manage Newcastle United in November after two years in charge and, with no permanent replacement appointed, Lindsay will take charge of games away to Switzerland on 3 March and home to Turkey four days later.

Lindsay, who is currently manager of the Northern Ireland men's under-16 team, was previously at the helm of Irish Premiership side Dungannon Swifts, and served as first-team coach for Cliftonville and Glenavon.

Lindsay was also first-team coach for the Northern Ireland women's team when Gail Redmond was interim manager between the reigns of Oxtoby and previous manager Kenny Shiels in July 2023.

"Managing your country at any level is a privilege and I'm delighted to be given this chance," said Lindsay.

"I have followed the senior women's team for some time. They have a fantastic leadership group and my role will simply be to add where I can.

"These are two tough games to kick off our World Cup campaign and I'm looking forward to getting started."

Director of women's football at the Irish Football Association (IFA) Angela Platt said that Lindsay's interim hire would allow the organisation to take the "proper time and diligence" over naming Oxtoby's permanent successor.

The role was publicly advertised on football recruitment agency and the closing date was 23 January.

"Following Tanya stepping aside, it was important that we took the appropriate time to reflect and fully assess what the next phase for the senior women's team should look like," she said.

"From the outset we were clear that appointing a senior international head coach is a significant and complex decision, and one that requires proper time and diligence.

"Our focus has been on clearly defining the needs, ambitions and long-term vision for the programme to ensure the next appointment is aligned with where we want the team to go, rather than being driven by short-term pressures."

BBC Sport NI's Andy Gray

It has been 68 days since Tanya Oxtoby's departure as Senior Women's team manager, and Wednesday marks 35 days until the start of World Cup qualifying.

Yet Northern Ireland's search for a permanent replacement for the Australian goes on.

Kris Lindsay is a highly-respected coach and well liked both within the Irish FA and across football in Northern Ireland, and it cannot be ruled out that he will turn out to be the long-term solution for the women's team, and a successful one at that.

But this is not the first time the IFA have taken a protracted approach for the position.

When Kenny Shiels left his role in January 2023, it wasn't until that August that Oxtoby was appointed.

In that time, Northern Ireland did not play in the February window, had Andy Waterworth in charge for a friendly with Wales, while Gail Redmond, along with Lindsay, was interim manager for June friendlies in Scotland and the Czech Republic.

Angela Platt, the director of women's football at the IFA, said she wants a "robust process" for replacing Oxtoby, but the public nature of the application through a recruitment agency raises more questions than answers.

Having such an open process, instead of targeting a manager, suggests a lack of strategy and clarity going forward post-Oxtoby.

The IFA are determined to land the right person for the job, hence the drawn-out approach, but Northern Ireland did not take part in the December window after Oxtoby's departure and enter a crucial campaign without a clear plan in place for moving forward.

Qualifying for the 2027 World Cup was always going to be a challenge, and unless Lindsay is the permanent answer, disruption caused by a lack of consistency across the campaign has the potential to do more harm than good to a young squad who are trying to improve to reach the next level.