Republic of Ireland Women Put Pauw Era Firmly Behind Them

The Republic of Ireland’s women’s football team started life under interim head coach Eileen Gleeson with a pair of impressive victories in the UEFA Nations League.

The Girls in Green blocked out the controversy surrounding former boss Vera Pauw to open their campaign with an impressive 3-0 victory over Northern Ireland at the Aviva Stadium.

Leading online bookmakers were suitably impressed with their performance, making them favourites to record another win against Hungary in Budapest.

Ireland duly hit the best Irish betting sites hard with an emphatic 4-0 victory – a result which sets them up nicely for a double-header against Albania in October.

Sports bettors will be eager to wager on them collecting another six points from those two games, with Albania the lowest ranked team in Ireland’s group.

Denise O’Sullivan produced a superb performance in Hungary, leaving her opponents completely bamboozled with a masterful display.

Tyler Toland also looked in good form after being restored to the Ireland squad by Gleeson. She is back in the fold after controversially being omitted by Pauw, who allegedly made disparaging comments about her physique.

With Pauw out of the equation, Toland has grabbed her opportunity with both hands, picking up the player of the match award against Northern Ireland. While Toland is happy to be back with the Ireland squad, she was keen to play down the row with Pauw.

“I just kept my head down,” Toland said. “I’ve obviously been out a while now but I’m going to look forward. It’s never been easy but we’re going to keep going. Nothing makes me prouder than playing for Ireland and pulling on the green jersey.”

The controversy involving Toland appears to be just the tip of the iceberg where Pauw is concerned following fresh allegations emerging about her conduct while in charge of Houston Dash in the United States.

Several ex-Dash players claimed that Pauw body shamed players and behaved inappropriately during her time in charge in 2018. She has denied the claims, which extended to accusations of her making unsavoury comments about certain nationalities.

Pauw led Ireland to their first-ever Women’s World Cup this year, before criticising the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) for failing to offer her a new contract in the wake of the controversies.

However, FAI Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Hill subsequently hit back at Pauw, suggesting her unwillingness to change her belligerent approach to management was central to the decision.

Hill also hinted that differences of opinion with Director of Football Marc Canham over her treatment of players led the FAI to head in a different direction.

“Vera was very clear, consistent, and open in stating, not just to us but also to her staff and players, that she believed her approach to core areas such as these was absolutely the right one and indeed something she had adhered to throughout her entire career,” Hill said.

“We are not doubting that conviction, nor indeed her beliefs. But we do feel it is important to recognise that in professional football, as in wider sport, there are always disagreements and at times, subsequent tension behind style and preparation.

“The manager had her views and believed in her approach. A number of the players and Marc simply had a different position. What we’re saying in simple terms is that we genuinely believe in order to propel the next phase of growth with this team for women’s and girls’ football in Ireland more broadly, we feel we need a different and fresh approach.

“There were indeed differences of opinion, but these are part and parcel of the game. It was clear from conversations with Vera that she was not going to change her fundamental approach.”

While Pauw will undoubtedly strive to clear her name, her position as Ireland manager was clearly untenable. Intriguingly, none of the players have supported Pauw publicly since her departure.

Toland’s return to the set-up raises questions Pauw’s methods – a point accentuated by the worrying allegations made by former Dash players.

Regardless of the outcome, Ireland’s players looked on good terms with themselves in their first two Nations League matches and can look forward to the future with renewed vigour now Pauw has gone.