Corsie Reflects on a “Very Hard Week” Following Dual Manager Dismissals

“You start looking over your shoulder. You think, do things come in threes? What else is going to happen?” These were the thoughts of Scotland and Aston Villa defender Rachel Corsie as she considered a “very hard week” during which both her national team and club managers were dismissed from their positions. Pedro Martinez Losa was removed as Scotland’s manager on December 13, a consequence of the team’s failure to qualify for Euro 2025. This dismissal occurred two days after Robert de Pauw departed Villa, concluding his six-month tenure in charge of the club. “It has felt a very hard week. As a player you just have to go into that mode, we [Villa] also had midweek fixtures last week,” Corsie stated during an appearance on the BBC’s Behind the Goals podcast. She added, “You just have to rally and galvanise the players together. Being apart from Scotland, you touch base with as many people as you can or that have reached out to you.” Corsie further explained the immediate impact at her club: “From a club perspective you’re a little more in the thick of it, so it’s been a difficult week with people losing their job around Christmas time. Any time is bad but [especially] around this time when you’re building into a Christmas break.” She noted that “The [Villa] team managed to get a win on Wednesday night and a win on Sunday which has just slightly helped some of those heavy feelings,” concluding, “It’s not been a nice week for me personally. As a player, in a tough way you almost have to put those emotions to the side.” Corsie herself has not yet returned to playing following knee surgery, which she underwent in early October. She commented on her current role, stating: “With me being out injured it’s helped me fulfil that role of trying to keep the players all together and just focus on the task ahead because I’m not in the emotional ups and downs of team selection and playing in the games where we’ve not had the results we would have liked to have had.” Corsie concluded, “I’ve tried to be that support, and the players have dealt with it really well.”