Simone Magill talks about her trailblazing career so far, Northern Ireland Women's march to the Euros and Everton Women's difficult season; watch Man Utd Women vs Everton Women on Sunday live on Sky Sports Premier League, Football and Main Event from 11.30am; kick-off 12.30pm
Sunday 27 March 2022 12:38, UK
Everton Women forward Simone Magill may only be 27, but she has had quite the career and her influence on the growth of women's football - especially in her homeland of Northern Ireland - cannot be underestimated.
Magill was the first female player from Northern Ireland to land a professional deal when she signed a full-time contract with Everton in June 2017. She was only the second Toffees player to sign professional terms with the club too.
The forward was already a seasoned international by the time she moved to Everton at the age of 18 - she made her senior international debut at just 15 years old - and they are experiences which shaped Magill at a young age.
Speaking exclusively to Sky Sports ahead of Everton's trip to Manchester United Women on Sunday, she said: "It's crazy when I think about it. I suppose when I was 15, I didn't really know any different. I'd been involved within the system since I was 11 and you forget how old you are.
"I was playing for the younger age groups and I guess, as a smaller country, our pool of players is smaller. But it's credit to the manager at the time, who said 'if you're good enough, you're in', regardless of how old you are.
"It was an amazing feeling when I made my debut, to not only represent your country but at such a young age. It gave me such a head start. When I was 18 or 19, I was one of our most experienced players, which is mental when you think about it. It's such an honour to play for Northern Ireland and to have the opportunity at such a young age was fantastic.
"It spurred me on because I had already faced so much by the time I was 18. I'd experienced so much in the game because I was well travelled with senior football so it put me in good stead when I did move, as opposed to moving across when I was 18 when I had no experience. So it did really help me.
"I was 17 when I started the process [of moving to Everton]. I was in high school, doing my A-Levels and I was thinking about what to do next. In terms of my football in Northern Ireland, I felt like I'd pretty much done all I could do over there in terms of top goalscorer, player of the year for the league.
"I really felt that if I was going to progress my football, I needed to go across the water. I juggled with going to America or England, I looked at Everton and the club I was with at the time helped me a lot. We reached out and I flew over for a trail in January time.
"I was still in high school and Everton agreed that they wanted to sign me, which was amazing. Until I finished school, I was flying back and forth every week to play football for Everton and do school Monday to Thursday so I'd be in Liverpool every weekend for the game.
"When I finished high school, I moved over permanently and I haven't looked back since. It was crazy because it was a lot to do at once - I'd never lived away from home and had to learn a lot.
"I joined uni in the September which helped me massively in terms of having a social life outside of football and it gave me a foundation as well. It was crazy but I never looked back. I love being here, learning and developing as a player. I've been here a long time now.
"When I was growing up, there was no clear pathway into the professional game and it wasn't even fully professional. I almost had to figure a pathway out for myself because there was nothing set in stone.
"To come through that and be the first to sign a pro deal, it was massive because it shows all the young girls at home that here's another girl from Northern Ireland, a really small country, that has come out of it and has signed as a professional in the WSL.
"I like to think it has motivated and instilled. I think we're already starting to see, even just the success in the national team and the impact it's having back there, the pathways back there to get girls through the system, into the national set-up, and we are still trying to bridge that gap to get girls across the water.
"We are now seeing more girls signing professional deals, there's a few up in Scotland and a few coming over to England. It will keep growing and hopefully it's a normal thing and I'm not just the only person that does it. It's a regular thing and I think it will just keeping growing."
This summer will see another milestone for Magill - she will take part in her first major tournament with Northern Ireland as they compete at the Women's Euros, being held in England.
It is the first time the country have qualified for an international tournament, and although it has been a dream of Magill's since she was young, she did not expect it to come around so quickly.
"It's probably the greatest thing that's ever happened to me in my career," she said. "Did I think we would do it this early on into Kenny's [Shiels, Northern Ireland Women head coach] career? Maybe not. If you'd asked any of us, we would have said we were on the right path, but the instant success we've had since Kenny came in is phenomenal.
"Ever since I was a little kid, I said I wanted to play for Northern Ireland and be part of that first group to qualify for a major tournament. To sit here today and say that I was a part of that is such an incredible feeling, given the odds were all stacked against us. It's one of those unbelievable success stories and I don't think anything will ever top that in my career again.
"The rollercoaster that we went through and the emotions we felt through that. I've been involved with the team for over 10 years, but some of these girls are pushing on for 15 years. We played for Northern Ireland when no one cared, nobody came and watched us, and we would get hammered every time we played.
"For us to have all stuck together throughout this process and trusted when Kenny came in and to now just see us excel and be on this world stage is such an incredible feeling. It's a credit to all of us for hanging on and trusting that one day, all these things we put up with were going to be worth it and it has paid off.
"With NI, I'm on about 70 caps now and I want to push on to 100 - that's the next big target. I'm the second top goalscorer so I want to push on to take over Rachel Furness, although she's only recently broken the record, so I've got to give her a bit of time to enjoy that one.
"We've had a bit of banter about that for some time, I say she got a head start on me because she's older, but I'll let her enjoy it for a while and then hopefully I can catch it."
After a few seasons of improvement for Everton - including an FA Cup final and pushing for the top three - this current campaign has not quite gone the way the club would have hoped.
Two managers have been dismissed by the club, with Willie Kirk's replacement Jean-Luc Vasseur sacked after only 10 games, leaving them in ninth place with just five WSL wins.
Reflecting on a difficult campaign, Magill said: "It's been a rollercoaster to say the least this year. When you look at it as having so many new signings, it's always going to take time for that to gel.
"Unfortunately, we've lost two managers this year, which hasn't helped that real togetherness in the team. It's something that will still take time while we figure out the best way for this team to play and progress. Right now, it's all about sticking together. We have a couple of games left of the season and we appreciate it's been a rough ride for us this year.
"There was a lot of talk at the start of the season about what we can go on and achieve and we haven't done that. We recognise that but for us as a group, it's important that we stick together, see this season out and finish on a high.
"There are still important games left and we can get a head start going into next season."
Next up for Everton is a trip to Manchester United, who are one of the teams pushing for a Champions League spot. The teams drew 1-1 in the November fixture at Walton Hall Park, with Magill on the scoresheet.
This time around, she is targeting more points as Everton look to end the season on a positive note.
"It's never an easy game playing against Man United," she said. "For us as well, the occasion is going to be massive so it's important we don't let it get the better of us.
"Any time we have played United, it's always a tasty fixture and hopefully it'll be another one this weekend. We drew with them at home last time we played, so, for us, getting points is the most important thing and we'll go into Sunday with that mindset.
"We want to have a top performance, build, off the positive we've had in the last two weeks despite the results. We want to go into Sunday and get a real positive result and try and climb up the table."
Watch Man Utd Women vs Everton Women live on Sky Sports Premier League, Football and Main Event from 11.30am; kick-off 12.30pm.
