Northern Ireland women's football manager Tanya Oxtoby expresses optimism about the return of record goalscorer Rachel Furness, citing her experience and versatility as crucial for the young squad ahead of their Nations League game against Romania. With injuries and illnesses plaguing the team, Furness's presence is seen as a boost. Oxtoby emphasizes the importance of gathering points rather than focusing on group standings as they aim to secure a strong finish after mixed results in the tournament.
"We've got a fairly young group and we're in a great position where we can bring Furney in, she has been getting regular minutes for her club and she is tactically very astute," Oxtoby told BBC Sport NI.
"We're focusing on a points tally rather than a position in the group now and if we hit that we'll end up where we need to. We need to put out a complete performance against a really experienced Romania team."
"With the way we want to play we need versatility, and she can play in a number of different roles and the leadership she brings around the group is priceless, she'll come in and add a lot of enthusiasm and belief."
"We have been managing illness in the camp, and we have done really well to contain it but unfortunately Duggie and Megan were casualties of that."
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