Diane Caldwell’s dissection of the methods employed by former Republic of Ireland manager Vera Pauw was both calm and calculated.
“The results and performances that we got were in spite of Vera being our coach,” said Caldwell, as the FC Zurich defender delivered the sharpest criticism of Pauw’s four years in charge at FAI headquarters in Abbotstown, Dublin, on Monday.
Evidently Caldwell aimed to draw a line under the Pauw era when she came into the media room to deliver the player group’s long-awaited view on the 60-year-old Dutch coach.
During the World Cup in Australia last July, when Irish players were repeatedly asked about Pauw’s methods and her potential contract extension, they provided the same, non-committal response. Now comes their true feelings, via Caldwell’s stern rebuke of a manager they believe lacked the necessary traits to draw the best performances from Ireland at a major tournament.
Caldwell also revealed that in early 2021 she and Katie McCabe spoke to former FAI performance director Ruud Dokter about “certain aspects that needed to be improved and changed” with regards to Pauw’s perceived shortcomings.
“But ultimately that fell on deaf ears and she got a contract extension,” said Caldwell.
The FAI board voted last month not to offer Pauw a new deal to guide Ireland up to the 2025 European Championships in Switzerland. The reasoning, subsequently presented by FAI chief executive Jonathan Hill and director of football Marc Canham, was two-fold: Pauw disrupted World Cup plans by doing an interview with The Athletic and her coaching was out of step with how Canham and the players view the modern game.
For several months there has been disquiet within the squad, mainly about Pauw using international media events to proclaim her innocence following a ban from US soccer, as well as her public rebuke of McCabe after the Nigeria game on July 31st.
Caldwell lost her place in Pauw’s team in 2023, and she described the injury-time introduction against Nigeria to win her 97th cap and finally play at a major tournament as a “token gesture”.
The 35-year-old was speaking ahead of Ireland’s Nations League tie against Northern Ireland on Saturday, which doubles as the first ever women’s football international at the Aviva Stadium.
“We just need to raise our standards in all levels of performance on and off the pitch. Expectations of ourselves and expectations of staff. Increase the levels of professionalism across the board, in every facet, be it match analysis, opponent analysis, performance, nutrition, recovery, everything across the board to get the best out of us as players and a group on the pitch.”
The suggestion appeared to be these areas were lacking when Pauw was manager.
“I think there are many areas that could have been better under her tenure. I think preparation for games could have been better, physical preparation, opponent analysis, match tactics, in-game match tactics, changes, systems of play.”
So what was done well under Vera? “I think a group of players that were destined for success came together at the right time.”
When pressed for more details about Pauw’s strict adherence to the philosophy of football periodisation, which contributed to the FAI not renewing her contract, Caldwell said: “From my position as a pretty experienced player I don’t think it was up to the standard I expected at international level. I think the results and performances that we got were in spite of Vera being our coach.”
Irish players repeatedly approached Pauw to “professionalise many aspects” of preparation drawing from daily experiences at their British, US or European clubs.
“But it was hard to get change. She obviously made myself a part of the leadership that she created, along with a few other players, so she gave us that position to use our voice and try to talk on behalf of the team. I think we tried to do that as a group the best that we could but obviously, at the end of the day, she is the coach and she controls everything. We can only say and try to change so much.”
The FAI, now under the direction of Canham, clearly agrees. The changes to the first post-Pauw camp were instantly visible at training on Monday as former Brazil performance coach Ivi Casagrande took the warm-up before new assistant coach Colin Healy put the team through a match-scenario session.
Pauw insisted on retaining control over nutrition, but Dr Brendan Egan will bring his expertise to the men’s and women’s senior squads, while McCabe also hailed the addition of the sports psychologist Sarah Murray.
Caldwell’s word is final, apparently; not a single member of the World Cup squad or coaching ticket are doing interviews for the rest of this week as interim manager Eileen Gleeson endeavours to turn the page.
