At the turn of the year on a boiling day in Brisbane, Melissa Andreatta scribbled down her goals for 2025. One stood out. 'Be the head coach of a SWNT team'. Then Australia's assistant manager, she was not explicitly referring to the position with the Scotland women's national team that had recently become vacant, but rather a 'senior women's national team' role. She was ready to make that jump. Call it spooky or serendipitous, but four months on from jotting it down in her journal, Andreatta was jetting off from the east coast of Australia for the west coast of Scotland. Travelling with her was her family - including eight-month-old daughter, Mackenzie - as she committed instantly to the challenge of taking Scotland to a first tournament since 2019. Her task is an exacting one, but the former teacher has scaled a few mountains to make it this far. BBC Scotland sat down with Andreatta to chat management, motherhood and her masterplan for making the 2027 World Cup. It is safe to say when Andreatta was announced in April as the permanent successor to Pedro Martinez Losa, very few Scots knew much about her. A quick internet search would reveal a former midfielder who had spent 10 years in various Football Australia roles - including the last five as the Matildas assistant - as well as a winner of the W-League Premiership with home club Brisbane Roar. It was an impressive CV - which also included the 2018 coach of the year award in her home country's top division - but the depth of the in-tray awaiting her was at least as comprehensive.

Top of the pile was picking up a slumping side in a transitional period after just failing to reach a third major tournament. But it did not deter the Australian, who will lead Scotland against Switzerland in a friendly in Dunfermline on 28 October, four days after travelling to take on Morocco in Casablanca. "The more the process went on, it became very clear that this wasn't just a project for me, instead it would be something I would be very passionate about," she told BBC Scotland. Her first two games in charge made it clear to Andreatta that returning the national side to the top table "won't be this perfect, linear journey". But it is an expedition she is excited to embark on - and one she feels she is equipped to thrive on given her tough journey to the top. "My whole history has been that 'back against the wall', 'let's do it' [attitude] and I think I thrive in these situations," she added. "My family weren't wealthy. My dad worked four jobs to put us through school, so things were tough - but it was all about working hard and putting in the effort. "Then, when you're a coach who's not a former national team player and a female as well, it's a challenge. I've had to prove that I was worthy. "But all those things have led me on this path where I've had to fight for everything and earn everything. That's in my nature."

Andreatta would describe her nature as "competitive, curious, caring and calm". They are four characteristics that help her in management and, in the last year, also in motherhood. Mackenzie was welcomed to the world last August and, apart from the shift in sleep pattern, she has "enhanced" her mother's attitude to her job. "She keeps me grounded and is a very welcome distraction," Andreatta said of her 14-month-old. "She reminds you of what's really important and it's super rewarding. "It also reminds you of your responsibility, that every interaction you have with her or with anyone else can have an impact, and I'm super conscious of that." It is the latest role that requires an attention to development, which is at the heart of the approach of the Australian, who is studying for a Masters in sports coaching. As well as serving as first-team assistant, Andreatta was Australia's first women's Under-23s head coach, a programme the former school teacher said she was "very proud to establish". She believes her career in the classroom "could be" her joker card while her "bank of experiences gives you that belief".

"I think our brains are amazing and the mental side of the game has so much potential," Andreatta explained. "I'm a big believer that the capacity of people is far greater than maybe what they believe. "I think humans are constantly developing and that's the greatest opportunity that I have with this team - to really embrace their growth mindset and together with their motivation, hunger and drive, to help them to achieve what they want. "I think that comes hand-in-hand with my background as a teacher." While Andreatta and her squad are still getting to know each other, they do already share one key, common goal - a belief, and an ambition, to return to major tournaments. After reaching Euro 2017 and the 2019 World Cup, Scotland failed to capitalise on that momentum and have missed the last three tournaments. The most recent failure was being absent from this summer's Euros in Switzerland, which was won again by neighbours England. Andreatta is fully aware of what it takes to not only qualify, but to compete, on the world stage. She is convinced Scotland have what is required. "What I see is the quality players we have, the depth that we're building and looking at to make sure we have a strong 23, because that's what you need," she added. "Anything is possible if you really give things a good old crack and back yourself.

"We're turning over every stone and looking at every detail that will help us get that edge, that something different that will get us through that wall. "It's going to be a mission and it's going to be tough. It's something that we want, but we have to earn it. I think everyone's up for the challenge." Five months on since flinging herself into the role, Andreatta appears to have the exuberance and eagerness in her answers to excel. Following the heartening draw with the Netherlands in June, Real Madrid's Caroline Weir told BBC Scotland that Andreatta "has come in with so much energy, enthusiasm and positivity - she has so much belief in us and I think that showed". Now it is down to a Scotland squad who have left, of late, many questions unanswered, to deliver for the Australian aiming to take them back to the international big time.