Ireland defender Diane Caldwell has voiced her criticism of former coach Vera Pauw, stating that the team reached the Women’s World Cup “in spite” of Pauw’s leadership. Caldwell emphasized that Pauw failed to extract the best from the players due to inadequate preparations.
Under the guidance of the 60-year-old Dutch coach, Ireland secured their spot in their first major tournament this year in Australia and New Zealand, although their journey ended in the group stage.
The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) initiated a review of the team’s performance and decided not to renew Pauw’s contract, which had expired at the end of August.
Caldwell, 35, who made a solitary appearance at the World Cup as a stoppage-time substitute in their final match against Nigeria, expressed her views during a press briefing ahead of Ireland’s upcoming match against Northern Ireland.
According to Caldwell, the results and performances achieved by the team were “in spite of Vera being our coach.” She asserted that the team’s preparations fell short of the standards expected at the international level.
Caldwell specifically highlighted areas where she believed improvements were needed, including physical preparation, opponent analysis, match tactics, in-game match tactics, and systems of play. She indicated that players had requested Pauw to professionalize various aspects of their preparation.
In response to Pauw’s departure, the FAI appointed interim coach Eileen Gleeson to lead the team.
Pauw, in her defense, asserted that her position was undermined by FAI executives during the World Cup. She also claimed that the FAI’s attitude toward her changed after an article published by The Athletic in July contained allegations of “abusive and inappropriate” behavior during her tenure as manager of the Houston Dash in the American top-flight NWSL.
Pauw firmly denied these allegations, maintaining her stance of “absolutely refuting” the claims made against her.
