The Matildas’ leadership group have been engaging with Football Australia regarding their next coach as they prepare to return to action for the first time since the Paris Olympics.

In the meantime, Caitlin Foord and her teammates want to get back to their fun-loving best.

Interim coach Tom Sermanni is leading Australia for friendlies against Switzerland on Saturday AEDT and Germany next Tuesday in Europe.

FA chief executive James Johnson has been open about engaging with players during the process to find Tony Gustavsson’s permanent successor.

“There have been conversations, I think with the leadership group, there’s been a few. I think there’ll be more throughout this camp,” Foord said.

Foord said she isn’t in the leadership group, which includes Sam Kerr, Steph Catley, Ellie Carpenter and Emily van Egmond, so hadn’t been involved in discussions – and wouldn’t be suggesting any “names”.

“As players, we want to win, we want to be successful, we want to take the team to the next level. So I think it’s just about finding the right person for the job,” she said.

“I’ve always been purely, I’ll play football, and I guess all the other stuff’s up to who’s in charge. So for me, I just hope it’s the right person for the job to help us take us to the next level.”

Foord, 29, is in a “weird” and “strange” position.

She doesn’t have a permanent head coach for club or country after Arsenal boss Jonas Eidevall recently stepped down.

“I trust in both club and country that when the coach comes in, it’ll be the right person,” she said.

“It shows you how quickly the game can change, and how things can change really fast.

“So again, for me, it’s more so to just enjoy what I have in front of me and play the game as best as I can, because it moves quick.”

It’s working – with Foord back to her scintillating best.

“Off the back of the Olympics and feeling like, as a team and myself personally, didn’t perform the way I would have liked to, the start of the season was another opportunity,” she said.

“I’m just enjoying my football and obviously I love playing for the club, and I want to give everything to the club.

“So despite what’s going on around I obviously can control what I can control and, for me, that’s just to do my job.”

Foord stressed there was “no rush” on a permanent Matildas coach and planned to enjoy playing under Sermanni, who she debuted under as a teenager.

“For us, just to have a good environment, a positive environment, obviously, as we all know, it was, I guess, quite a negative one from the Olympics not going the way we wanted to,” she said.

“So just to get back to that Matildas’ fun, positive football feeling and yeah, hopefully two good results off the back of that will help us moving forward as well.”

Anna Harrington
(Australian Associated Press)