Katie McCabe says that it is ‘the right time’ for a new chapter in her career following her move to Chelsea.

Ireland continue their FIFA Women’s World Cup qualifying campaign on Friday night with their fate still in their hands. The Ireland captain spoke to the media on Thursday morning ahead of the Ireland vs Netherlands match at Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Friday night.

Katie McCabe ‘excited’ for pastures Blue

On Monday, Chelsea confirmed that Katie McCabe would join the club following the expiry of her contract at Arsenal. McCabe was asked how she is feeling now the cat is out of the bag,

“I’m really excited” McCabe beamed. “Everything’s obviously out in the open before camp, obviously it was announced on Monday, so I was glad it was announced, and I could kind of concentrate now on on the games. Yeah, I’m just excited.”

McCabe was asked how long the move to join Chelsea had been in the pipeline,

“Obviously, it’s no secret that I was coming into the last year of my contract” McCabe said. “So yeah, I think from January onwards there was conversations naturally.

“And yeah, over the course of the last few weeks and months everything kind of got sorted out, which was really positive.”

The Halfway Line asked McCabe about her move across London to pastures Blue, and those conversations with Sonia Bompastor,

“I can only keep those conversations between me and Sonia” McCabe said. “What I will say is I’ve got a massive respect for Sonia and the player she was, having played at such a high level.

“But also the coach she’s become as well, managing such top players in Lyon and Chelsea as well, and what she’s won as a manager. I’m really excited to work under and learn from her.”

McCabe ’empathizes’ with Arsenal fans

After over a decade at Arsenal, McCabe left the club to join Chelsea for a fresh start. McCabe was asked how she felt about her final months at Arsenal,

“Yeah, for me having spent 10 or 11 years at a football club is really special for me. To be able to do that at a football club like Arsenal, was amazing” McCabe said. “Growing up there, learning so much as a player and as a person, I’ve got a lot of respect for every single person back at the club, and all my teammates.

“Of course it’s been difficult over the last few months for me, but I think it’s the right time now for a new chapter in my career and having spoken with Sonia [Bompastor] a couple of weeks back, couple of months back, I understood what she wanted and the project she was trying to create at Chelsea, and I wanted to be part of that.

“I empathize a lot, obviously, with the Arsenal fans at the moment. It’s not an easy thing to see a player that spent so long at a club go on to a rival club, but the same time I need to put myself first, and this was the best case for me.

“I feel I’m still, I know I’m 30 now, but I still feel I’m in a really good place in my career, and I feel like I’ve still got a lot to give, and Chelsea have had so much success over the last few years, and I want to continue to compete at the top and win trophies and be part of something really, really special.”

McCabe was asked to expand on the fact she stated that the last few months had been difficult,

“I think for me it’s [the] coming to an end, you know what I mean, like it’s coming to an end of a journey” McCabe explained. “You’ve been at a football club, I think naturally anybody would find it hard leaving somewhere after 10 years.

“But it’s also part of football, your time comes, and I’m just really embracing now the next challenge in my career. As I said, I’ve got a lot of massive respect for the club and the fan base and my teammates as well. But now it’s, yeah, it’s time for something new, and that’s what I’m really excited for.”

Katie McCabe confirms ‘the wheels were in motion’ at time of Arsenal offer

In April, it was reported that McCabe had received a late contract offer from Arsenal. McCabe was asked whether that offer came too late for her to consider,

“No, I think for me, yeah, wheels were in motion” McCabe explained. “I knew where I was at from that point in time, I knew where my head was at.

“I was ready to just finish off the last few weeks as an Arsenal player as best I could, and a big, obviously, thank you as well to the fans in Liverpool at Anfield at the time, giving me a massive send-off that meant an awful lot to me, but yeah, I think for me, yeah, decision was made.”

McCabe and Ireland looking for ‘statement’ win over Netherlands

With all the excitement around McCabe’s move to Chelsea it could have been easy to forget that Ireland have a World Cup qualifier tomorrow night. McCabe spoke about whether victory tomorrow night against Netherlands would be a statement victory,

“Yeah, I mean, for sure it’s a statement to win against any top team” McCabe asserted. “I think for us at the start of the campaign against France, against Netherlands, we felt like we could really get something out of the games, both games in that sense, and I think that just goes to show how far this team has come.

“A couple of years ago, we would be in a different, we’d be in a different boat, but we’re not too far off now. We know the strength of the squad, and we’ve got a belief that we can go and create something really special with the help of all the Cork people tomorrow night.

“I think we can create an amazing atmosphere and be ready to get out of the traps quick, because, yeah, the Netherlands know it’s not going to be an easy game for them either, and they’ve got a lot of respect for us, as we do for them. So, it’ll be an interesting game for sure.”

You can still purchase tickets for Ireland vs Netherlands tomorrow night, which kicks off at 19:30pm.