Ruesha Littlejohn says she's grateful to Republic of Ireland boss Carla Ward for giving her the opportunity to pull on the green jersey as she continues her search for a new club.
The 34-year-old was released by the London City Lionesses last month and has yet to be snapped up.
Capped 85 times before Ward succeeded Eileen Gleeson, Littlejohn feared her dream of becoming an Ireland centurion was over, but the new boss gave the midfielder a real shot in the arm by starting her against Turkey in the Nations League last Friday.
Littlejohn's ongoing management of Achilles tendonitis means she can't always train, but she believes she still has plenty in the tank to perform when it matters.
"But it could have been different. Another manager could have come in and that could have been the end of it. I’m lucky it has been Carla. We get on well, she lets me be me, she lets the person be themselves, you don’t need to be anyone else. She likes the banter about the group, so that works out well for me – and a few others!
"After the Wales game I think I cried all the way home on the flight."
"Obviously I'm unattached to a club right now so if there’s any teams out there that’s looking for a rogue midfielder sign me up. I’m not that bad! I’ve a bad rep and I don’t know why."
Ireland toiled against the Turks but dug out a 1-0 win at Tallaght Stadium. Ward has stated her intention to implement a more technical style based on keeping possession; making everything click is going to take time.
"It’s definitely something that Eileen and Colin wanted too, they wanted us to start working in possession more," added Littlejohn.
"I think the new staff have come in and they’re really wanting to push that on us too. There’s a lot of us that are happy to do it.
"Yes, we’ve still got to be realistic when we’re playing the big guns. It might not be that easy but I think when you’re playing other nations now it’s something we need to practice and get better at, become more comfortable and try dominate games.
"Obviously with that, possession means nothing without creating chances and scoring goals so that’s another thing to throw in there."
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The wounds of December's Euro 2025 play-off final loss to Wales (despite LIttlejohn's goal in Cardiff, above) have not completely healed, however Littlejohn stressed the importance of looking forward. It's a fresh start for the Girls in Green, with big targets to aim for.
"Personally, that’s done now," she said. "After the Wales game I think I cried all the way home on the flight. I think a few of the girls did. But that’s it, you’ve got to park it. It hurts, it was sore and now we move forward. It’s all eyes on trying to qualify for a World Cup.
"There’s still a lot of experience in this squad and with that there’s a good balance of young ones coming through, people on 20-odd caps, they’re at a good age and they’ve got many years ahead of them. Right now the squad is in a good place."
