Monday 2 October 2017 22:10, UK
England legend Rachel Yankey believes the women's national team will swiftly move on from the "confusing" sacking of manager Mark Sampson.
Sampson was dismissed by the FA on September 20 following evidence of inappropriate behaviour in his previous role at Bristol Academy.
He has since been replaced on an interim basis by England U19 coach Mo Marley and retired winger Yankey thinks the current crop of England internationals are professional enough to prevent the situation becoming a distraction from their World Cup qualifying campaign.
"I, like most people, don't know the full story so I'm a bit confused by the whole situation, I don't really know what's going on," she said.
"I don't really pass too many comments on it and I just know that it won't affect the England players because they play for the shirt.
"It's about the team now. The team pushing on and making sure that they qualify for the World Cup and really off-the-pitch-stuff needs to be dealt with by the proper people that are obviously going to go through the investigations.
"I don't know the ins and outs of what's gone on so it's not for me to comment on whether he's been fairly treated or unfairly treated, it's a very confusing situation."
Caretaker coach Marley, appointed on Friday, will take charge of the senior team for a friendly in France on October 20, as well as next month's 2019 World Cup qualifiers against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kazakhstan.
The 50-year-old former Everton defender must continue the progress made on the pitch by Sampson, whose four-year spell in charge of the women's national team saw England finish third at the 2015 World Cup and reach the semi-finals of Euro 2017.
But Yankey has tipped Marley for success having previously played alongside her with England Women.
"She'll go in and I'm sure she'll do a fantastic job," added Yankey.
"She's a great person and she's great with people so I'm sure she'll make sure that she gets the confidence of the players really, really high.
"I think it's someone that the players will feel comfortable and confident with. She's a very good communicator and I'm sure she'll get the best out of the players."
