Méabh De Búrca wasn't surprised that Vera Pauw's time as Ireland manager came to an end on Tuesday night with the FAI's announcement that the Dutch woman would not be offered a new contract.
"It's hard to call," De Búrca, who won 52 caps for Ireland, told Newstalk Breakfast when asked if it was the right decision.
"Only time might tell that. It does seem like it wasn't attainable anymore that she'd stay. I think once a manager loses the dressing room, and that was evident for those of us on the outside to see... A lot of players had been interviewed and asked did they support Vera, and they declined to comment. That says it all really. It's difficult to continue then when that happens.
"For her, it definitely feels like a sacking given that she did make her views known that she did want to stay in the position. The footballing pedigree is evident. She did lead us to our first qualification for a major [women's] tournament. That will always stand to her. It's a monumental moment.
"When you break down the results, and you go through it, it was quite a favourable group in that we only beat teams that were ranked below us. Not taking away from the achievement but the only competitive result against a team ranked higher was a draw with Sweden. On that side, there wasn't anything over extraordinary."
20 July 2023; Republic of Ireland manager Vera Pauw with Lucy Quinn of Republic of Ireland, left, and Republic of Ireland goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan, centre, after the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 Group B match between Australia and Republic of Ireland at Stadium Australia in Sydney, Australia. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
There were also rumblings that Ireland's conservative style of play under Pauw irked some players.
"Denise O'Sullivan, after the Nigeria game, spoke in an interview about how great it was to play with such freedom in that game while in the two previous games, she had been restricted to playing a deeper defensive midfield role," said De Búrca.
"Also, Louise Quinn spoke publicly about it as well, saying that she would like to see them play more of an attacking style. At the same, you can't argue, she got us to the World Cup by playing in that system. We'd all love to see an expansive style of football but you have to be smart."
The FAI confirmed on Wednesday morning that Eileen Gleeson, currently head of women's and girls' football and a former assistant to Pauw, will take over on an interim basis.
Another former Ireland international, Karen Duggan, told RTÉ Radio One it's important that the FAI takes its time in appointing a permanent successor to Pauw.
25 August 2010; Meabh de Burca, Republic of Ireland. FIFA 2011 Women's World Cup Qualifier, Republic of Ireland v Israel, Carlisle Grounds, Bray, Co. Wicklow. Picture credit: Matt Browne / SPORTSFILE
"The next step is crucial," she said.
"We're at such an important point in our development, getting to a World Cup should be a catalyst in an uprising in the amount of players playing football in this country. We need to make sure we have the right structures in place and the right manager in place to nurture the talent that is coming through.
"We have a lot of girls who are ageing. The new manager that comes in, it's going to be a project. They need to be willing to give it the time it needs. It can't just be someone coming in for one campaign. It needs to be someone who has a vision for the senior international team and someone who cares about the direction that football in this country is going.
"It’s important that the FAI take their time to find the right person. We have the Nations League coming up, and people will be keen to have a full-time manager in place for that but our next focus has to be on the [2025] Euros. The FAI took a long time to make their decision last night, hopefully it won’t take as long to find a candidate but it has to be the right one."
See Also: Five Leading Candidates To Replace Vera Pauw As Ireland WNT Coach
