Scotland Women's Football Team

Amy Canavan
BBC Sport Scotland

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Michael McArdle said he is "a servant leader" and his aim as Scotland interim head coach is to allow the players "to be the best version of themselves".

McArdle will take charge of the national team for their opening two Nations League A games against Austria and the Netherlands later this month as the search continues for a permanent successor to the sacked Pedro Martinez Losa.

It will be the first meet-up since the Euro 2025 play-off pain in Finland in December, and McArdle is anticipating some players will still find it "difficult" when they come back next week.

"My full focus just now is just on the camp," he said.

"It's about the players more importantly. My leadership style is very servant, I'm a servant leader, so I'm here to make sure I can allow the players and the staff to be the best version of themselves moving forward.

"It'll be difficult for some because they've got that kind of feeling from the last cycle."

When asked about this squad - which has 10 new faces from the Finland roster - McArdle said "balance" is key.

"We need experience, we need a strong spine, and when you're including youth players and promoting youth players to these environments, it's crucial we surround them with that strength, quality and experience, so the balance is crucial," he added.

"The youth is crucial as well, because there is exciting talent coming through, so it's a moment in time where we need to recognise that. But, age is irrelevant, it's about who the best players are at this time."

Amy Canavan
BBC Sport Scotland

Image source, SNS

Michael McArdle has been speaking to the media after naming his first Scotland squad as interim head coach for the opening Nations League games.

Here are are the key things he said:

• McArdle is "proud and honoured" to be appointed interim head coach and insists "the future is bright".

• After making nine changes from the squad beaten by Finland in the Euros play-off final - including six uncapped players - he said now is a good time for "freshness", "looking forward to the future" and to "reward players".

• He stressed it's an "exciting opportunity" for SWNT and added "he's been living" among the new generation of talent and so "doesn't just feel" they're the team who can get Scotland back to a major tournament.

• McArdle's full focus in on the camp, not a potential permanent appointment. His remit is to have Scotland playing in League A consistently.

• The interim head coach wants to bring "entertainment and energy" to the fanbase to excite them and win back their support.

• McArdle confirmed Leanne Ross will be his assistant while Stewart Hall from Hibernian and Chris Flockhart will also join his staff.

• In his role as head of women's elite football, McArdle added "alignment is vital" with the Under-17, Under-19 and Under-23 set-ups.

• He confirmed captain Rachel Corsie suffered another setback and is "several weeks" away from a return.

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Scotland will play at Tannadice for the first time when they host Germany in their second home women's Nations League Group A1 game in April.

Scotland, guided by interim head coach Mick McArdle following Pedro Martinez Losa's exit in December, will kick-off their campaign later this month in Austria before welcoming the Netherlands to Hampden.

The national stadium remains SWNT's home, but, the Scots played both of their Euro 2025 play-off home legs at the end of last year at Easter Road, having hosted Serbia at Firhill in July, too.

The national team were last in Dundee in July 2023 for a friendly victory against Northern Ireland at Dens Park.

Tannadice will host the first match of a double-header with Germany, before Scotland round of their campaign at Hampden against Austria four days before they visit the Netherlands for their final game.

Speaking on the Behind the Goals podcast, Scotland's Sam Kerr looks forward to playing Germany in April.

Scotland midfielder Sam Kerr discusses her loan move from Bayern Munich to Liverpool on the latest episode of the Behind the Goals podcast.

Plus, Rachel Corise and Leanne Crichton look back at the weekend's SWPL semi-finals and ponder whether Rangers and Celtic are really moving to the WSL.

Listen and subscribe to Behind the Goals on BBC Sounds

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Scotland international Sandy MacIver has joined Washington Spirit from Manchester City on a three-year contract.

The 26-year-old goalkeeper made three appearances for City since joining from Everton in 2022.

"Thank you to all the players and support staff for making my time at this club a memorable one," MacIver posted on Instagram., external "I will miss being part of this team and wish everyone the best for the rest of the season.

"The fans are what make this club special, thank you for your incredible support. I've loved meeting you all at our games and your love for this team doesn't go unnoticed"

MacIver joins former City teammate Esme Morgan, who signed for the NWSL side in June.

Emma Sanders
BBC Sport women’s football news reporter

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Liverpool are hoping to sign Scotland international Sam Kerr on loan from Bayern Munich this month.

The Women's Super League transfer window opened on 1 January and closes at 23:00 GMT on 30 January.

Manager Matt Beard said in December it is likely the club will sign just one player in January and sources say they hope it will be Kerr.

Liverpool have had long-standing interest in the 25-year-old midfielder and missed out on signing her in 2022.

Kerr joined Bayern in the summer of 2023 on a three-year deal and has made 13 appearances for the German side.

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Pedro Martinez Losa has taken charge of Mexican side Tigres Femenil - just a week after his Scotland sacking.

The 48-year-old Spaniard was dismissed after play-off defeat by Finland cost Scotland qualification for Euro 2025.

It was a second failed attempt to reach a major tournament under Martinez Losa.

Tigres are currently second in the Mexican top flight, which gets back under way next month. Pedro Martinez's first game in charge is set to be on 7 January against Tijuana.

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"You start looking over your shoulder. You think, do things come in threes? What else is going to happen?"

Scotland and Aston Villa defender Rachel Corsie has been reflecting on a "very hard week" in which both her national team and club managers were sacked.

Pedro Martinez Losa paid the price for Scotland's failure to qualify for Euro 2025 when he was dismissed on 13 December, two days after Robert de Pauw left Villa following a six-month spell in charge.

"It has felt a very hard week. As a player you just have to go into that mode, we [Villa] also had midweek fixtures last week," said Corsie on the BBC's Behind the Goals podcast.

"You just have to rally and galvanise the players together. Being apart from Scotland, you touch base with as many people as you can or that have reached out to you.

"From a club perspective you're a little more in the thick of it, so it's been a difficult week with people losing their job around Christmas time. Any time is bad but [especially] around this time when you're building into a Christmas break.

"The [Villa] team managed to get a win on Wednesday night and a win on Sunday which has just slightly helped some of those heavy feelings.

"It's not been a nice week for me personally. As a player, in a tough way you almost have to put those emotions to the side."

Corsie has yet to make her playing comeback after knee surgery in early October.

She added: "With me being out injured it's helped me fulfil that role of trying to keep the players all together and just focus on the task ahead because I'm not in the emotional ups and downs of team selection and playing in the games where we've not had the results we would have liked to have had.

"I've tried to be that support, and the players have dealt with it really well."

Scotland skipper Rachel Corsie and former midfielder Leanne Crichton discuss the search for a new head coach to replace the sacked Pedro Martinez Losa.

Listen and subscribe to the Behind the Goals podcast on BBC Sounds

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Leanne Ross has stressed her "focus is with Glasgow City" amid links to the current Scotland vacancy.

The former international was a key figure in Pedro Martinez Losa's coaching staff and has been at the centre of speculation surrounding his successor.

However, the 43-year-old emphasised her commitment to club football.

"I'm focussed on my job here at Glasgow City, that's always been the case," Ross told BBC Scotland.

"The national team, I love being involved with, but for me I am the Glasgow City manager."

Martinez Losa left his position as Scotland head coach on Friday following a second failure to reach a major tournament and Ross underlined the importance of returning to the top table under the next boss.

"We need to follow the process which is now in place and make sure we get the right person in place," she added.

"We need to make sure we get the best out the players we have going forward because we need to get back into major tournaments.

"The players we have right now have to be playing on the biggest stage."

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Pedro Martinez Losa's disappointing reign as Scotland boss came after defeat by a Finland side three places lower in the rankings, albeit the relative positions were skewed by the Scots' recent fixtures being against lesser opposition while Marko Saloranta's side were being relegated from the tougher League A.

His exit seemed inevitable given Scotland's failure to qualify for a third consecutive major finals, their second during his watch.

Former Scotland midfielder Leanne Crichton thinks questions were always going to be asked given the Spaniard had been tasked with ending that major tournament drought.

"For Pedro, it was a mixed bag," she told BBC Scotland. "If you look at some of the achievements and identity of the team, it started to change and at points it looked really positive, but for any national team manager, it's getting to major tournaments and, when you don't do that, ultimately it looks like a failure.

"In the world that we live in now with football, there's always an expectation that managers will lose their job if they don't deliver the remit expected of them."

We asked for your thoughts on Pedro Martinez Losa's sacking and who you think should replace him as Scotland boss.

Here's what you had to say:

Hugh: Should have been done sooner. We would have qualified. As for golden generation. No way. We have far better players to pick from.

Ian: It's about time, he should have left a lot earlier. The manager position should definitely go to Duncan Ferguson.

David M: They have been absolutely horrible to watch and Martinez Losa should have been let go after the Republic of Ireland game. That game told you he never had a clue on changing games when they were not going your way, tactically inept.

David H: It was long overdue, he has underperformed and failed to get the best out of probably our best group of players ever. Time for a young female head coach who knows how to get best out of our best players and play with attitude and attack. Maybe Jo Potter or Elena Sadiku, although suspect they'll go for Leanne Ross which is a backward step, my outside bet is Eileen Gleeson.

Kevin: A long time coming, I said months ago when he was available to go get Scott Booth. Would he leave Aberdeen so soon now though?

Colin: I sincerely hope the SFA don't take seven months to find a replacement like they did last time.

Paul: The people who decided to give him a contract extension should also go. Clear out the SFA dinosaurs.

Anon: We should be appointing guys like Grant Scott and Scott Booth, they both understand Scottish women's football.

Les: The SFA need to be far more careful when handing out management contracts. This entire affair is going to cost a lot of money that should be used to grow the women's game.

Desmond: About time he went. Football has been terrible. There are players who should never be wearing a Scotland jersey.

Jane Lewis
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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The Scottish FA are looking for a new head coach for the women's national side after sacking Pedro Martinez Losa.

It's hard to know how the governing body will play this. Will they be open to another foreign recruit or look closer to home? Finances could also come into play.

With this in mind, let's look some early runners and riders.

Leanne Ross: Probably the obvious choice. The current Glasgow City head coach won 133 caps and would command respect from the players.

The squad know her well as she was part of the coaching staff under Martinez Losa, although whether that helps or hinders her as a contender remains to be seen.

She has moved into full-time football coaching with ease and has plenty of drive and desire for success.

Mick McArdle: Currently the girl's and women's performance manager, part of his remit involves enabling a smooth transition into the full national squad.

So he knows what he's looking for in a player and has knowledge of what the national team need. He has worked in Scottish football for almost three decades with St Mirren, Falkirk and Ayr United and recently has been coaching the Scotland Under-19s and 23s.

Brian Graham: A relative rookie within women's football, but the Partick Thistle women's boss - who is also a striker with the men's team - has imprinted an identity on his part-time squad as they punch above their weight against sides with superior budgets.

Thistle's results under him speak volumes - two back-to-back top-six finishes and an appearance in a League Cup final.

Grant Scott: Is overseeing Hibernian's transition from a part-time to full time-club, and making a success of it. Having coached at a variety of Scottish clubs, Scott is full of experience and knowledge of the women's game in Scotland and beyond.

He's not afraid to give youth a chance, allowing his squad to play with a freedom. He's also seen a fair few of the players he's coached make it into the full national side.

Amy Canavan
BBC Sport Scotland

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Fewer than 48 hours ago, Caroline Weir said Pedro Martinez Losa still had the "respect" of the Scotland squad despite their failure to reach Euro 2025.

Speaking after Real Madrid's Champions League match with Celtic in Hamilton, the midfielder still thought the Spaniard had the confidence of the team.

He has now been relieved of his duties, but the players have not been freed from the hurt and disappointment suffered during his spell.

The 29-year-old admitted defeat to Finland "has hit hard" and she "found it hard to sleep for quite a few nights".

"I've probably found it one of the more difficult times in my career in terms of a result like that," Scotland vice-captain Weir said.

"I actually found it hard to sleep after for quite a few nights.

"It's hit a lot of players very hard, for me definitely, thinking, 'what more could I have done?' Thoughts you really don't want to have, but that's happened in the last week.

"I think it's probably too soon to say exactly where [Scotland go from here].

"We have to reflect, see where it was we fell short exactly. For me, it's still a little bit too soon to really go into the details, we have to let it settle a little bit."

Martinez Losa's future has been settled, though, and he leaves with the respect of his players.

"He's put a lot of trust in me recently especially and the players respect him for sure," Weir added on Tuesday.