Ireland defender Dianne Caldwell has slammed her former coach Vera Pau, saying the team reached the Women’s World Cup “despite” her leadership. Caldwell believes that Pow’s inadequate preparation prevented the players from giving their best performance. Despite leading Ireland to their first major tournament, Pau’s contract was not renewed by the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) following a review of the team’s performance.
Caldwell expressed disappointment at the lack of international standard preparation, including physical preparation, opponent analysis, match tactics and in-game strategies. She revealed that the players asked Pauvo to professionalise various aspects of their preparations.
Pauw, who has now been replaced by interim coach Eileen Gleeson, claimed her position was undermined by FAI executives during the World Cup. She also noted that the FAI’s perception of her had changed following allegations published by The Athletic in July, which accused her of “abusive and inappropriate” behavior during her time as manager of the Houston Dash in America’s top-flight NVSL. However, Pauve denied these allegations.