The departure of Vera Pauw from her role as Ireland WNT manager last summer came under a cloud, after the team's first-ever appearance at a World Cup finals.
Pauw's departure was confirmed in the weeks after Ireland's exit from the group stages in Australia, as they took one point from a challenging pool including Canada, Nigeria, and the hosts.
It had been a turbulent summer even before those finals kicked off. Historical allegations against Pauw from her time in North America resurfaced before the World Cup, leading to a media frenzy in the weeks leading up to Ireland's departure Down Under.
During the finals, things were to further worsen, as an apparent spat between Pauw and Ireland captain Katie McCabe went public after the final group game against Nigeria.
31 July 2023; Republic of Ireland manager Vera Pauw with players, from left, Izzy Atkinson, Megan Walsh, Denise O'Sullivan, Katie McCabe and performance analyst Andrew Holt after the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 Group B match between Republic of Ireland and Nigeria at Brisbane Stadium in Brisbane, Australia. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
In the immediate aftermath of her departure, Pauw slammed the FAI for their handling of the situation, while CEO Jonathan Hill confirmed that a difference in opinion between Pauw and the FAI's staff had led to her exit.
The following month, Ireland veteran Diane Caldwell publicly called out Pauw, as she suggested that the national team's success during her tenure had been "in spite" of the Dutch coach, rather than thanks to her efforts.
Pauw has now publicly responded to those remarks for the first time.
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Vera Pauw hits out at Ireland star in first major interview since departure
‘The results and performances that we got were in spite of Vera being our coach’
Vera Pauw responds to Diane Caldwell’s comments today on Episode with Richie Sadlier - free for all and out now wherever you get your pods.https://t.co/GjOmaREWNQ pic.twitter.com/LpVNXqjELg— Second Captains (@SecondCaptains) April 10, 2024
Vera Pauw was this week the first guest of season two of Richie Sadlier's excellent podcast 'Episode' with Second Captains.
The 61-year-old coach has been out of work since leaving her post as Ireland manager last summer, and much has been said in the intervening months - most notably by Irish defender Diane Caldwell in the buildup to the team's Aviva Stadium debut last September.
Pauw addressed Caldwell's comments and said that she was "destroyed" by them. She claimed that she had made several attempts to secure positive moves for Caldwell at club level, and had chosen to bring her to the World Cup against the wishes of the rest of the staff, despite her lack of minutes for her club.
Where in men's football would a player that is given the opportunity, who has only played so few minutes, to go to the World Cup and be part of it?
In our conversations, all the other technical staff members wanted to put her on the table as a discussion point. I have said, 'Diane Caldwell is not a discussion point.' Niamh Fahey had a calf injury, she was still dealing with it. With us, she played all the games. I said, 'if she falls out, who do you trust, someone with almost 100 caps?
'I would choose the one with experience. Diane Caldwell is not on the table.'
So I protected her in all sense. She hardly played, she wasn't on the table as a discussion point, and she does this to me.
She made sure to enter the pitch at the end of the last game. She probably had her mind set that she would play her 100th cap at the World Cup or something.
The fact is that staff members - plural - came to me and said, 'if Diane is not playing, we need to consider bringing her because of her attitude.' I said, 'well, we will manage. I think she's worth it, she deserves it.'
Then coming out with this...we had planned every single detail.
I was angry, I was destroyed. Probably everything that she wanted me to feel.
The former Ireland manager went on to suggest that, had a player on her squad made similar remarks about a previous coach, they would have been asked to leave the camp. She also expressed her disappointment that her successor Eileen Gleeson (a former assistant to Pauw) did not publicly condemn Caldwell's remarks.
I would have said, 'you can go up to your room, pack your bag and leave the camp.'
I'm disappointed because two weeks earlier we [Pauw and Gleeson] said, 'nothing comes between us. We love each other.' We spoke it out - 'nothing comes between us.'
The first thing she says is, 'Diane has the right to say things because everybody can have an open opinion and everybody can share their opinion.'
Pauw claims that she had sent letters to every member of the playing squad, including those who had not travelled to Australia, ahead of the World Cup - and that the allegedly co-ordinated responses made her feel vulnerable in her position.
Addressing the conflict with McCabe during the World Cup, Pauw claimed that the Ireland captain did not thank her by name in her post-tournament speech - though went on to stress once again that the pair had cleared the air since the tournament.
I've spent two times an hour on the phone with her, after [the tournament]. She perfectly realised what she did. Probably, that is why she had a positive interview at the first camp after.
That was positive, we said to each other what we felt. She never mentioned anything like things were not okay.
After her exit as manager, Pauw had urged fans not to target McCabe after their spat. In a recent press conference, McCabe also praised Pauw for her role in bringing the Irish team to the level they are now at.
The wide-ranging interview is well worth a listen in full, with Pauw also breaking down her at-times tense relationship with FAI CEO Jonathan Hill.
In particular, Pauw says that she disagreed with Hill's decision to conduct private meetings with the playing squad in the aftermath of the Athletic's article detailing historical allegations against the coach. Pauw tells Sadlier she believed it "undermined the authority" of her position. She also reasserted her belief that a decision had already been made on her future before the World Cup.
11 October 2022; Republic of Ireland manager Vera Pauw joins the celebrations with her players and staff after the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 Play-off match between Scotland and Republic of Ireland at Hampden Park in Glasgow, Scotland. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile
Pauw says that the night Ireland qualified for the World Cup finals with a play-off win in Scotland ranks among the highlights of her coaching career and that the relationship with the players at that time showed no sign of discontent.
However, Pauw claims that certain interactions with players in the aftermath of last July's Athletic article made her feel as though a "constant provocation" was ongoing against her.
The Dutch coach said that, by the time they arrived at the stadium for the first game, she was embarking on the campaign "for herself" - appearing to throw an unfortunate dig at the ability of the squad who had brought Ireland to the finals.
I remember, before the first game, we could see the stadium for 20 minutes. We all left and I went back on my own, going to the pitch.
I looked around and I thought, 'Vera, this is for yourself. You've done everything, always, your whole life, for others. This is for yourself that you stand here, that you didn't step out.
'Do the best you can, make sure they play their best game ever, and do that simple - because they cannot grasp more than the simple things, so it must be extremely accurate, short, and make sure that they play as a team within the capacities that they have.'
That's what I did.
The former Ireland coach went on to suggest that she found little to no enjoyment in the World Cup experience, taking place as it did with a cloud hanging over the group. Pauw says that the sole moments of personal enjoyment were those shared with her husband and the Irish fans.
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