It’s ‘inevitable’ a female will manage professional men’s football club, predicts former Chelsea star Andy Townsend

A woman managing a professional men’s football club is ‘inevitable’, according to Andy Townsend.

Chelsea Women’s boss Emma Hayes was linked with the men’s managerial job at AFC Wimbledon last month, before the League One side opted to appoint Mark Robinson.

And former Chelsea and Republic of Ireland midfielder insists it will not be long before a woman is bossing a Premier League or EFL club.

Speaking on International Women’s Day on Monday, Townsend told talkSPORT: “There is much more awareness now about women’s sport, the quality of women’s sport and women participating in the men’s game.

“It’s been a while now since we first saw female officials involved.

“I don’t think it’s going to be that long before we see a woman running a professional team. I don’t know what league, I wouldn’t be able to say Premier League, League One, League Two.

“But I don’t think it’ll be that long before we are seeing women, not only involved, but women competing and being very competitive in that respect. It’s inevitable.”

talkSPORT hosts Laura Woods, Adrian Durham and Jim White named their most inspirational women in sport.

Explaining why she picked Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill, Woods said: “As I grew up, the 2012 Olympics was one of the highlights of sport in general.

“I remember ‘Super Saturday’ so well. Jessica Ennis-Hill was the face of the Olympics.

“She had been building up this moment all of her life and to see her go through each event in the heptathlon, do what she needed to do and take it all in her stride, and just seem to do it so easily… it was just the class and the calmness she did it all with.

“I remember seeing her come up on the podium and it was one of the most iconic moments that will always live in my memory. The way she accepted her award, looked around the crowd and there was a slight moment where she kind of broke a little bit.

“She is just this incredibly talented athlete and what she has gone on to do since then – not just for athletics bit for women in sport – and what she stands up for and the fact she is a mother as well, I just think she does it with an element of class.

“She is wicked. She inspires me and I think she is amazing.”