PROBABLY the best piece of advice offered to Ireland’s ‘poster girl’ Abbie Larkin, who took the plunge and moved across the water, came from her Ireland team-mate Izzy Atkinson during Monday’s media day in Dublin’s Castleknock Hotel.
Former Shamrock Rovers winger Larkin signed for Glasgow City on deadline day and has made three appearances for the Scottish Women’s Premier League club.
It’s been a whirlwind few months for the Ringsend teenager having starred at last summer’s World Cup finals in Australia and now making the daunting move to full-time professional football in Scotland.
With all the mental challenges that comes with leaving home, Atkinson urged Larkin to seize the opportunity in front of her.
“It can be nerve-wracking taking that jump,” said Atkinson (22), who left her Dublin home for Celtic a couple of years ago.
“But she has taken the leap obviously, and [I’d say] just enjoy it. You are going to learn so much from playing professional football and being on the training pitch every day.
“I know you have those nerves and anxiety - but you just have to put them to one side and go and enjoy it because that is what we are here to do: to play football and you have to do it with a smile on your face.”
Larkin insists she would have been content to have remained at Shamrock Rovers but when an offer came in, she jumped at the chance of playing at a higher grade.
“I just said I would consider it and think about it.
“I just thought it was a good decision to make, get myself at a club.
“It wasn’t like I was going to force it or anything. It just came to me, and right, it’s going to happen.
“I had a week and a bit off when I came back from Australia and then I went back into Rovers.
“I wanted to get back training as much as possible just so I didn’t lose fitness or anything. It went from there, played games. And then obviously there were options coming in.
“But I was also thinking maybe at the moment, I might just finish out with Rovers. And then obviously last minute, Glasgow came in. And I was thinking like this could be a good step for me.”
The prospect of homesickness has been somewhat staved off by Glasgow’s busy schedule and her family attending some of her early games.
“Obviously I’m missing home every now and then. My mam and dad travel over for some of the games. I’m living with two team-mates.
“I have to do the cooking myself. I’ll have to buy a chef’s book or something. I live in Giffnock [10 miles from Glasgow].
“It’s a nice city, actually. It’s similar to Ireland - the weather is just as bad but the atmosphere is kind of similar.”
Describing her first few games as “intense”, Larkin came on as a late substitute in their Champions League exit to Norwegian side SK Brann last week, but the hope is she’ll become a regular in Leanne Ross’s attack as they try to peg back Rangers and Celtic who are five and six points better off than third-placed Glasgow in the latest standings.
Posters and banners were erected around her native Ringsend during the World Cup finals where she featured in all three group games against Australia, Canada and Nigeria.
Has the attention had any impact on her?
“It definitely has changed a little,” she says. “It’s changed since before I went away but it’s all good positive stuff.”
Larkin still hasn’t nailed down a starting spot in the Ireland team but was given plenty of minutes in the second halves against Uefa Nations League opponents Northern Ireland and Hungary last month.
The highly skilled teenager will be hoping to get some more minutes under her belt in their back-to-back Nations League games against Albania on Friday (home) and next Tuesday (away).
Two wins for Ireland over the coming days and they will finish top of Group B1.
“These games are so important,” she says.
“If we finish top of the group, win all of our games, we go into League A [of the Nations League].
“Some people think these are friendlies but it's a really important game for us to win and that's our mentality.”
