Republic of Ireland women’s assistant head coach Alan Mahon has stepped away from the post with immediate effect.<\/p>\n
Mahon, who forged a strong reputation in the women’s game as an assistant boss at Manchester City, came on board with head coach Carla Ward last January after she was named Eileen Gleeson’s successor.<\/p>\n
The Dubliner was a key part of the setup as the Girls in Green finished second in their Nations League group before beating Belgium in a two-legged play-off to gain promotion to the top tier.<\/p>\n
Ireland begin their World Cup qualification campaign against France in March. The Netherlands and Poland are the other countries in their group.<\/p>\n
“I’m a really proud Irishman and I’ve been incredibly fortunate to represent my country as a player and as a coach,” said Mahon.<\/p>\n
“It has been an amazing experience being involved with the Ireland women’s national team with memories and friendships forged that I will hold dearly for the rest of my life.<\/p>\n
“I’d like to thank Carla and the FAI for giving me the opportunity to take on the role, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Also, I owe a debt of gratitude to all of the players and staff who were brilliant to work with.<\/p>\n
“I’ve taken the difficult decision to step down from my role with the team due to personal reasons and would like to wish everyone involved the very best of luck.<\/p>\n
“I’ve no doubt that this squad has the potential to achieve World Cup qualification and I will be cheering them on in every game.”<\/p>\n
Back in June, it looked like Ward might lose assistant coach Amber Whiteley after she was in the running to get the Liverpool job. Whiteley was overlooked for Gareth Taylor.<\/p>\n
Popular performance coach Ivi Casagrande did depart in March, replaced by Holly Pickett who previously worked with Ward at Aston Villa and Birmingham City.<\/p>\n
Ward also invited ex-Manchester United number two Charlotte Healy (now Bristol City boss) into the camp for the two summer friendlies against the USA.<\/p>\n
Reflecting on Mahon’s exit, Ward said: “Alan was a pleasure to work with and on behalf of everyone connected with the Ireland women’s national team I\u2019d like to acknowledge and thank him for the important work that he did in helping us to secure promotion to League A in the UEFA Nations League.”<\/p>\n