ONLY a few short months ago, it seemed that things could not be going better for Leanne Crichton.

The footballer was putting the final touches to her pre-season training with Notts County as they prepared to make an assault on the league season and with the national team having qualified for the this summer’s European Championships, the 29 year-old was getting ready for the Scotland women’s team’s first appearance at a major tournament.

However, little did the Glaswegian know that there was a significant hiccup lying in wait. Just six weeks ago it was announced that Notts County Ladies were folding.

It left Crichton, who had been a Notts County player for two years, in the worst possible position – just a few months before the Euros she was clubless.

Crichton admits that for a period, she was utterly clueless as to what her future held.

“It was quite scary – we had initially been told that we might not be able to sign for other clubs which would have meant no football before the Euros,” says the midfielder. “And then there’s also the financial impact.

“I’m lucky that I have a good family around me who I knew would support me but you still have that feeling of worry about everything.”

Fortunately for Crichton though, she was able to get back to the day job relatively quickly.

The midfielder signed for the reigning Scottish Women’s Premier League champions, Glasgow City, who she had left to join Notts County, and everything seems to be back on track.

And, as she says: “As long as you’re fit and healthy and playing football, things can’t be too bad.”

With just over a month until the European Championships kick off, Crichton and her compatriots don’t have much time left to ensure they are on their absolute best form.

The build-up begins in earnest this evening when Scotland embark on a double-header of friendlies, firstly against Romania at Falkirk Stadium before taking on Sweden on Tuesday and Crichton admits that after the turmoil she has endured in recent weeks, she cannot wait to pull on the national jersey again.

“These games will be good,” she says. “When the squad gets together, we get that feeling that we’re in international mode.

“These two games are important and we need to treat them seriously because you don’t want to go into a major tournament off the back of a bad run.”

Scotland’s opening game of the Euros is against England and so the players will need to hit the ground running.

For Crichton thoug there are no nerves at the prospect of a first major championship appearance, only excitement.

“It’s been such a long countdown since we qualified so now, we just want to get started,” she says. “I don’t know if it’s quite sunk in that we’ll be there this time instead of watching at home.

“All the years of heartache, ups and downs, hard work and sacrifice- it’s all feeling worth it now.”

There is also, of course, the possibility that the team’s appearance will have a considerable impact on the popularity of the women’s game, which is what happened down south when the England women’s team did so well in the 2015 World Cup.

“It’s so great to think that us playing at the Euros could have an impact on the women’s game in Scotland,” she says. “That’s what we all want.

“This is a massive opportunity to target a lot of people – the game is growing and this could be the one thing that really takes it to the next level.”

While it is unquestionable that the women’s game is expanding rapidly, Crichton sounds a cautious note to anyone who believes that things are completely rosy. Her experience at Notts County illustrates that serious issues are still present and she talks much sense when giving her take on the current state of the women’s game.

“It would be fantastic if men’s teams wanted to plough money into the women’s game but the sad reality is that there’s not a high percentage of men’s teams who are doing that,” she says.

“The women’s game has to be self-funded. It has to have a better foundation- there has to be more marketing, more media coverage and more investment because I believe that women’s teams need to be in control of their own destiny.”

For now, Crichton’s sole focus is on the national team but she admits that her thoughts do, occasionally, drift towards what her future holds.

All things going well, there is, hopefully, still some good football left in Crichton yet.

“I’m trying not to think too much about the future but if there’s offers made from other clubs then of course I’ll look at them,” she says. “Whatever happens, I’ll continue to play whether that’s in Scotland or down south.”