FEMALE COACHES don’t get enough chances to manage in the top teams.

That’s the opinion of Antrim Ladies Football manager Emma Kelly who made the point on the upcoming episode of Take Your Points, Gaelic Life’s GAA chat show.

Kelly was on the show to discuss Antrim Ladies Footballer’s season.

She was asked about whether more women should get into coaching.

“Being female actually holds you back from getting some of the good jobs. How many females are taking mens teams?

“I know Ciara McGurk is involved in taking Sean Dolans mens teams. She is a brilliant player and a great coach. She says when she turned up to coach the boys didn’t look any different at her.

“Other clubs wouldn’t get a female coach in. I am hoping Maggie Farrelly’s position of saying that she’s not a female referee, she’s just a referee, will carry over.

“It shouldn’t be a case of a person being a male or a female coach, they should just be a coach.

“Females are saying that they are just as good as the males, they just haven’t got a chance. They are trying to get that belief and understanding there.”

Kelly feels that in some cases, female coaches might be a better option than their male counterparts.

“There are a lot of coaches out there, male coaches, who don’t even have their ladies qualifications, that explains why they don’t understand how to coach the tackle.

“For example if you have done the refereeing course then you know how to coach the tackle. But there are coaches out there who don’t understand the tackle.”

Kelly discusses her ambition for the Antrim ladies next year, as well as looking back on the season past.

The show also includes a discussion with Kevin Hinphey about his recent columns that looked at how to improve hurling in Ulster.

Listen to the Spotify show below, or watch the episode on You Tube: