Rianna Jarrett believes that the commotion that has been created regarding manager Vera Pauw and captain Katie McCabe following Ireland's exit from the World Cup could have, and should have, been avoided.
Ireland were already eliminated from the tournament before the final group game against Nigeria, and while Pauw’s side enjoyed a positive result in their final outing, the game was overshadowed by the post-match revelation that Katie McCabe had asked the manager to make changes, which were not immediately forthcoming.
When questioned on the matter after the game, Pauw stated that she was the coach, not Katie McCabe, and added that while she had no issue with her captain making suggestions, it was ultimately her decision.
"I think it is quite normal," said Jarrett, speaking on the RTÉ Sport Women’s World Cup podcast. "In a lot of teams that I have played in, managers have conversations with their captains like they would have with their coaching staff, and I believe that Vera is linked in with Katie on a lot of things.
"What happened yesterday isn’t out of the norm, I think it happens in a lot of teams. Just because the player asks for something to happen, it doesn’t always mean that the manager makes that decision."
Jarrett felt that McCabe had a valid point regarding the introduction of fresh legs, and felt that fatigue was playing a part in the performance, which resulted in the captain having less influence in the second half.
"That was Katie’s opinion, and I think the opinion of others watching on from the outside, that probably players were looking a little leggy," said Jarrett.
"Sinead Farrelly hasn’t played 90 minutes for a long, long time. Obviously, she has just come back into professional football and onto the international scene, and yet I thought she had a very good game.
"I thought Sinead and Katie worked well together, she covered for Katie when Katie went higher and they seemed to have a good understanding, but in terms of Katie looking for fresh legs on her side, it was probably to help her get on the ball a little bit more.
"Vera Pauw touched on that, which is why she put Denise [O’Sullivan] back into the middle, because we weren’t switching the play, and at times if you look at the game from different angles in the second half, you can see Katie with her hands in the air screaming for the ball to be switched.
"Katie was in the game so much in the first half, and arguably in the second half, she was barely on the ball.
"So I don’t see anything wrong with it, the biggest issue there was how it was handled."
Jarrett feels that the post-match conversation should have remained in the dressing room, however, she was not overly surprised that it did happen under the glare of the assembled media.
"The journalists had every right to ask that question, but I do think that, in terms of what went on and how it was dealt with, it probably should have been dealt with in house, and I think a lot has been blown out of proportion in that aspect," said Jarrett.
"Obviously, Vera went into full detail, and she was quite blunt in terms of what she said and how she felt about it, but that’s Vera. That’s how she deals with the questions, that’s how she deals with the media.
"And we’ve actually had those topic of conversations throughout about how she has dealt with post-game interviews in terms of addressing mistakes and dropping people’s names into things, so I don’t understand why people expect her to be any different.
"But this probably shouldn’t have gone to the media, and it shouldn’t have been addressed in that way, so it’s why people now have a lot to say about the situation, and understandably so.
"It’s just another thing to add to the fire to something that is quite visibly got a lot of attention in the media over the course of the tournament."
Following the press conference, the Ireland captain tweeted a zipped-mouth emoji, which has added to the speculation regarding the relationship between the two as the squad got set to return to Ireland.
"That tweet could be in relation to absolutely anything," said Jarrett. "Obviously, the timing of it and how it has come across, people have come to their own conclusions.
"I’ve seen the comments, and the public are quite 50:50 in terms of where they stand, but I think a lot of things are based on what has gone on internally.
"I haven’t been part of the squad for a long time now so I have no idea of what goes on in-house anymore, and the public have no idea what’s going on, so I think a lot of conclusions are being made from very little information.
"Likewise with Vera’s interview, people pick it up in different ways, and try to see what the underlying factor was around it, but we won’t know until things are addressed post tournament and once the girls land back in Dublin.
"I gather that a lot of things are going to come forward in the next few weeks. Obviously, Vera is looking for a new contract and the FAI have been quiet on that.
"So who knows what is going to happen with anything, but obviously there’s a lot of questions being asked after what has unravelled in the hours after the final whistle yesterday.
"The last three weeks should have been about the football, questions should never been asked about her [Pauw’s] future…and it has overshadowed things and it has taken away from the girls and everything that they have done and the success and the enjoyment for them and I think that started pre-tournament as well and I think that will be assessed as well."
🤐
— Katie McCabe (@Katie_McCabe11) July 31, 2023
Meanwhile, Richie Sadlier believes that the FAI need to resolve any potential friction that exists between manager and captain following Ireland’s exit from the World Cup.
RTÉ analyst Richie Sadlier spoke about the matter ahead of the television coverage of England’s 6-1 win over China, and said that it may all just come down to two people letting off a bit of steam following the end of a long journey that did not go exactly to plan, however, he did state that he felt it was a mistake by McCabe to attempt to make a point through the medium of an emoji with no further context.
"I think anyone with a social media account at some point puts something out where you go, 'I wish I didn’t do that’, and you take it down and you learn from it," said Sadlier.
"I don’t think an Ireland captain, or a captain of any country, should use emojis to make any kind of statement at the stage that they are at the moment.
"It’s silly stuff, it’s beneath the captaincy…but let’s not make that out to be more of a big deal than it actually is, it’s just an emoji, no big deal."
"There's a difference between being captain and overstepping your mark"
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) August 1, 2023
Keith Treacy & Conan Byrne give a player's perspective on the Vera Pauw & Katie McCabe situation #RTESoccerPodcast #FIFAWWC
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Yet Sadlier stressed that while it was all speculation within the media, there was an onus on the FAI to see how deep the problem goes, if one actually exists.
"But it’s what’s behind it, like what actually is the relationship like between the two of them?" added the former Ireland international.
"Is it just really common sense stuff? Everyone has been away for a few weeks, it didn’t go as they wanted, everyone is a bit tense and worked up, and these little things look like big things and actually it’s all very manageable.
"But if it’s more, if we are seeing a little window into something which is deeper and more problematic or unresolvable, then the FAI, bring it back to them, they are the ones who matter here, they have got to understand it and learn what’s going on and know exactly.
"We can speculate all we want, but the FAI are in a position where they have to find out."
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