Eileen Gleeson

Eileen Gleeson is the current head coach of Glasgow City, who play in the Scottish Women's Premier League.

Eileen Gleeson
Personal information
Place of birth Dublin, Ireland
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
Blacklions
Ballymun United
Hammond Celtic
Teams managed
2000-2004 Ballymun United
2004-2006 St James's Gate
2006–2014 Peamount United
2014–2017 UCD Waves
2019–2021 Ireland (assistant)
2021– Glasgow City FC (Head Coach)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

She coached Peamount United and UCD Waves in the Women's National League (Ireland) winning six trophies in an eight-year spell. In September 2019, Gleeson was appointed Assistant Manager to Vera Pauw as part of the Ireland International team set-up. She took up her current role on 14 November 2021. She is a UEFA pro licence holder (2015), Msc Coaching and Exercise, PhD Decision making in elite football.


Philosophy

In her interviews with The42.ie and in a profile piece by BBC Alba Gleeson communicated her philosophy. She explains that the role of a coach to create a learning environment, to have good structure and pathways to allow talented players to come through and compete. "You must empower the players to be able to express themselves on the pitch and take responsibility for their decisions. You also need to reflect on how your behaviour is impacting on your players. As a coach it can be tempting to focus on your coaching qualifications and think you know more than the players. But to me, it has to be a two-way process. That communication, openness, willingness to have players involved in the decision-making process is the key. The single most important thing for me with coaching is dealing with people and how we communicate decisions. There will always be conflicts and differences of opinion. Players will be disappointed by your decisions. It's how you deal with that. Put the player at the heart of everything, that's my focus — the person." She added further thoughts that "the game will be the game. There will be new trends and tactics, but it will remain 11 people v 11 people."

Head Coaching Roles

Peamount United 2006 to 2014

With a squad that included Nicola Sinnott, Aine O'Gorman, Sara Lawlor, Katie Taylor and Louise Quinn, Gleeson guided Peamount United to a treble in 2010, winning the Dublin Women's Soccer League title, the DWSL Premier Cup and the FAI Women's Cup.[1][2] Under Gleeson, Peamount also won the inaugural 2011–12 Women's National League title and the WNL Cup in both 2012 and 2013. Gleeson also managed Peamount during their 2011–12 and 2012–13 UEFA Women's Champions League campaigns.[3] In 2013–14 when Stephanie Roche scored her FIFA Puskás Award-nominated goal for Peamount against Wexford Youths, it was Gleeson who uploaded footage of the goal on the internet. It later went viral on YouTube.[4][5]

UCD Waves 2014 to 2017

While Gleeson could not replicate the scale of her achievements at Peamount, UCD had some success during this period. They finished second in the 2014-15 WNL, losing out to Wexford Youths by two points. They reached the FAI Cup final in 2014 losing 2-1 to Raheny after extra-time. The first Raheney goal was a phenomenal free kick by future Ireland captain Katie McCabe. In 2016, they reached the League Cup final, losing out 3–2 against Shelbourne. In 2017 they reached the FAI Cup final once more only to lose 1-0 to Cork City. Gleeson completed her UEFA Pro Licence in 2015, and her MSc in 2017 while coaching UCD. She left UCD in January 2017, to focus on furthering her own personal development. She began her PhD. to research Decsiion Making in Elite Sports, with an emphasis on Elite Women's football.

Ireland Women's National Team Assistant 2019 - 2021

In September 2019, Vera Pauw, the incoming manager of the Republic of Ireland women's national football team, appointed Gleeson as her assistant.[6]

The coaching team achieved notable improvements on the pitch, and even more significantly equality of pay with the mens team off the pitch. Gleeson left in 2021 to take up a role with Glasgow City.

Glasgow City 2021 to Present

SWPL champions announced in November 2021 that Ireland assistant Eileen Gleeson would take over as their new Head Coach. Joining part way through the season, the 14 in a row Champions had already dopped out of the Champions League in the early stages and sat second in the table behind Rangers. Gleeson guided the team to the final of the SWPL Cup in December 21 (losing 1 - 0 to Celtic) and into the Scottish Cup Final (29 May 22 v Celtic). With 3 games remaining they currently sit 2nd in the SWPL behind Glasgow Rangers.[7]

Managerial Career Club Statistics
League Championship Results
SeasonCompetitionClubPLDWDLFAWin %Final PositionFAI/SFA CupLeague Cup
2010DWSLPeamount United-------ChampionsWinnersWinners
2011/12WNLPeamount United151203661580%ChampionsRunner UpWinners
2012/13WNLPeamount United181422802078%Runner UpSFWinners
2013/14WNLPeamount United211731751981%Runner UpRunner UpSF
2014/15WNLUCD Waves181323691472%Runner UpSFRunner Up
2015/16WNLUCD Waves12813381467%3rdSFRunner Up
2016/17WNLUCD Waves12732331158%4thRunner UpSF
2021/22SWPLGlasgow City*15140151793%*FinalistRunner Up
  • Gleeson joined the Glasgow City team part way through the 2021/22 season. Results are for games were Gleeson was Head Coach.
Scottish Cup Final V Glasgow Celtic May 29, 2022

Honours

References
  1. Feery, Niall (26 July 2010). "Aine's the ace for super Peamount". The Herald (Ireland). Retrieved 14 January 2016.
  2. "Peamount Prepare for Champions Challenge". shekicks.net. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  3. "Gleeson and Peamount United part company". www.extratime.ie. 3 March 2016. Retrieved 14 February 2016.
  4. "Today on YouTube: Stephanie Roche scores goal of the season contender for Peamount United". The Daily Telegraph. 21 October 2013. Archived from the original on 21 October 2013. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  5. Kelly, Rory (21 October 2013). "Stephanie Roche Goal – The World Reacts – Passes 1 million views". ExtraTime.ie. Archived from the original on 24 October 2013. Retrieved 22 October 2013.
  6. "Ireland manager Vera Pauw appoints Eileen Gleeson as assistant". Football Association of Ireland. 14 September 2019. Retrieved 19 September 2019.
  7. "Glasgow City: SWPL champions announce Ireland assistant Eileen Gleeson as new boss". BBC. 15 October 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
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