New Spain coach confident of keeping job despite calling up boycotting players

The boycott came to an end last week after the Spanish federation promised it would make ‘immediate and profound changes’

Montse Tome (right) gave surprise call-ups to a number of players who had announced an intention to boycott (Getty Images)

Spain women’s coach Montse Tome said she was confident that she would remain in her position after the players ended their boycott of the national team.

The boycott, which started after former Spanish Federation (RFEF) boss Luis Rubiales kissed Spain player Jenni Hermoso on the lips following their World Cup triumph, came to an end last week when the RFEF said it would make “immediate and profound changes” to its structure.

Following Spain’s dominant 5-0 win over Switzerland in a Nations League group game on Tuesday, Tome, who had caught many of the boycotting players by surprise when she called them up, said she was happy with how the team responded after what she described as an “atypical week”.

“The players have been 100% professional and what we want is to enjoy the victory today and start the next training camp strong,” Tome told a press conference in Cordoba, when asked if she had the players’ support to stay in charge.

“I’m confident in my work and I feel like I have always had the players’ confidence as well. That is what they showed me during all the process.

“In football and in competition, winning always gives you something different. We are happy.”

Following wins over Sweden and Switzerland, defender Olga Carmona said she was happy with Tome and how the team responded to adversity.

“Yes, we are happy, the sensations that we had in the games were great, we managed to bring to the pitch what we wanted and what we have to do is to move forward and keep winning,” Carmona told TVE, when asked if she would like the manager to stay in the job.

Between six and nine RFEF senior officials will be invited to leave their jobs or will be sacked as part of a deal to end the boycott, a federation source told Reuters.

Secretary general Andreu Camps and Miguel Garcia Caba, director of integrity, were the first to be removed from their positions, the federation announced over the weekend.

Reuters