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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Sport
Michael Scully

Galway enjoying their lofty WPD view but must stay grounded, urges Gemma McGuinness

Galway United are flying high but Gemma McGuinness admits admiring the view will only spoil the journey.

Only WPD leaders Peamount United have bettered the start to the season made by the westerners.

That's fast going after Galway WFC confirmed in September that it would not apply for inclusion in this year's WPD and a month later Galway United was formed.

READ MORE: Kate Mooney nursing pro dreams after electric start with Peamount United

McGuinness was one of those brought in to bolster the core group that remained after the transition.

"It's exciting stuff," said the 27-year-old. "From the start we set our ambitions high and everyone was on board with the process, which was about setting standards for training sessions and sticking to that as a group.

"That's been paying off and now we have great momentum. The wins are keeping us going - the goal now is to stick to our process and not get over-excited.

"That potentially gets a bit harder to do when the wins are coming.

"So now it's really time to nail down that mindset so that we appreciate how well we're doing and we're not getting too far ahead of ourselves. That's crucial."

The midfielder was in the UK for work reasons in the close season and contemplating her next move after returning to the league with Sligo Rovers last year.

That experience made her eager to stay in the WPD. Galway boss Phil Trill convinced her to do so, outlining the club's ambitious plans and promising the right resources to deliver.

McGuinness said: "The conversations I had with Phil and with some Galway players made my decision easy. It all felt very positive.

"I understand what my role is and the influence I can have, I love pushing for more - I thrive on that stuff, on trying to build a team.

"Even with so many young players I've never seen so many leaders in a group before, so there's no extra pressure with the likes of Jenna Slattery and Therese Kinnevey there.

"We definitely understand the group has to be together, the same as in a work environment. So it overlaps with what I do on a daily basis."

Like many players in the league, McGuinness is juggling a full-time career with football.

She will actually be watching on her laptop to see how Galway fare against Treaty United as she is in the Algarve running a programme for Davey Nutrition.

"I told the club when I was joining that I'd have to miss a few games," McGuinness explained. "I've changed a lot of things around work-wise to be able to play.

"I have flexibility but Davey is Irish-based and we work with different companies across Ireland and the UK, and this week I'm running a workshop.

"It will be hard to watch and not play. Hopefully we get the right result."

Coming from behind to beat champions Shelbourne added to McGuinness' feeling that the new project is on the right track.

"You can have belief at the start without results but when results come, that has added to it," she said.

"We didn't go to Shels looking for a draw, that's just the way we played and that's what we'll continue to do. We just can't get too far ahead of ourselves."

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