England Lionesses thinking outside the box with appointment of Hege Riise - Sue Smith

With Phil Neville leaving ahead of schedule to take over at Major League Soccer side Inter Miami, the Lionesses needed a short-term appointment until Sarina Wiegman takes the job permanently in September. There is also the issue of who leads Team GB at this summer’s Olympics.

I had not really expected the appointment of the Norwegian great and her Canadian assistant Rhian Wilkinson, who both applied for the job of Neville’s assistant. I was expecting the Football Association to promote from within the existing set-up and keep the consistency of the England way.

Neville did a lot to improve the Lionesses’ infrastructure and professionalism which will only fully come to fruition in years to come. There have been so many social media posts from his former players talking about what he did for them as people, you have to think the affection is genuine. That is certainly how it comes across from those I speak to.

However, I am pleased the FA have thought outside the box and taken the opportunity to bring a bit of freshness. Hopefully, Riise thinks along broadly similar lines to Wiegman.

Just as Neville did in a different way, she will command instant respect. Riise is a Norway great, winning 188 caps at a time when, along with Germany, they were the strongest country in European women’s football – a time when many of the girls in the squad would have been forming their love for the game.

In 2020, she was also nominated as FIFA’s best women’s coach, missing out to Wiegman.

I played against her when she was at her peak, and she was a real leader on the pitch.

She was not a Ronaldo or Messi-type figure but did everything very well. You do not win 188 caps for Norway by being average.

She would always be highlighted in our team meetings as a player we needed to stop influencing the game and I always had the impression she was an absolute professional, as fit as she possibly could be.

Having won the 1993 European Championship, 1995 World Cup and a gold medal at the 2000 Olympics, then being on the coaching staff of the United States’ women’s team, she brings a winning mentality the Lionesses have not had.

They should be excited to play for her.

If she was my coach, I would probably really annoy her because I would constantly be asking questions about how she did it. That knowledge is bound to give you an edge.

For her, this is a chance to show what she can do. Riise has been given a contract until August, but should be looking to earn herself a job at the Olympics, and then on Wiegman’s backroom staff. I am sure that is how she will look at it.

With Jane Ludlow resigning as Wales manager last week, I wondered if she had an eye on the Team GB job this summer, the recruitment process for which will not start until next month. Shelley Kerr stepped down as Scotland coach at Christmas.

Chelsea’s Emma Hayes and Manchester United’s Casey Stoney were other options but the great jobs they are doing in the Women’s Super League to be in that position might also be a barrier to taking it. It throws up possible conflicts of interest.

If Riise does well, she will clearly be in the frame. Although it is a Great Britain team, not a Lionesses side, the majority of players will be English.

It was good that Wiegman wanted to do the right thing by the Netherlands and lead them to Tokyo as promised, just not from an England perspective. It could cause difficulties.

I wonder if there will be any unofficial contact with Riise to ease the transition. Wiegman must have an eye on England at the moment but has to give the impression of being fully focused on her current job.

If the two countries met at the Olympics, it would not sit well if she had been getting information from Riise about how England’s players have been training and what they have worked on.

If the Olympics do not happen, it becomes more straightforward for the 
FA.

If they do go ahead and England do very well in them, what then?

Will there be a clamour for Riise to keep the job? If she becomes Wiegman’s assistant, will that put extra pressure on the new manager? It just gets complicated.

It would, though, be a nice problem to have.

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