Vera Pauw says she'll nurture Irish starlets Abbie Larkin and Ellen Molloy in every way possible to ensure the promising teenagers fulfil their huge potential.
On Thursday Shels attacker Larkin, still only 16, was named in the senior squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifier against Sweden, as was Wexford Youths' 17-year-old Molloy.
Larkin has just spent the week with the Under-17s, who missed out on qualification for the European Championships after a 4-1 loss to Iceland. It had been initially planned to send her with the Under-19s, who take on Greece on Tuesday week, the same night Ireland square up to the Swedes.
Such has been the rate of Larkin's progress however, that Pauw is bringing her to Gothenburg.
Molloy is also eligible to link up with the Under-19s but her brilliant performances in the Women's National League have meant she's long been on Pauw's radar - she'd only just turned 16 when she was first called up to the seniors back in August 2020.
Pauw was full of praise for her younger players but she also sounded a note of caution around how to best handle them on both a personal and professional level.
"Pressure for a game is not the issue. Long-term pressure that the young player is putting on themselves, that is more of an issue."
"We decided that Abbie would play with the Under-17s last week, because she is with her peer group also and she feels as if that is where she belongs," said the head coach.
"Now because she is so talented, she is coming with us, coming with the 'A' squad and that was decided earlier because coming with us means that she cannot come with the Under-19s.
"It is about being clear and open, especially with the parents. In the end, sport is about enjoying yourself, about expressing yourself but it should never be about long-term pressure.
"Of course, there is pressure for a game. That is part of it, that is why we do it. Every single international game I ever played [for the Netherlands], everyone thought I was so calm and that it didn't do anything to me, but every single game, I thought: 'Why am I doing this to myself? Why am I not sitting on the couch with my legs up, enjoying a movie?'.
"And after the game, I said to myself, 'oh yeah, this is why I do it!'.
"Pressure for a game is not the issue. Long-term pressure that the young player is putting on themselves, that is more of an issue. So when a young player is stepping up, we really need to take care that fatigue is not coming in, that they have enough rest, that they don't train more.
"With me, they train less and step by step they are growing. If they train less... the moment that they play, they can perform to 100% and they can perform to their abilities.
"And that gives them confidence, not overloading them. So, we are very careful in the sense of their wellbeing to discuss with their parents, when we need, just checking in with the parents.
"For example, an underage player, I will never text her directly. I will never get in contact with her without being in contact with her parents first, so those little rules I put on myself to take away the issue that the players are under pressure because they are intimidated by coaches contacting them."
Ireland will play a League of Ireland Under-15s boys side on Thursday to help them prep tactically for the formidable challenge Sweden will pose at the Gamla Ullevi stadium.
They endured a seven-game losing streak that was ended by last September's 3-2 friendly win against Australia, but within that period Ireland opted to play some of the world's highest-ranked teams because Pauw believed it would hasten their development.
Now, that tactic appears to be paying off.
Ireland were beaten twice by a brilliant Germany team in the European Championship qualification campaign and the manager says the lessons learned there - coupled with other tough tests against Denmark, Belgium and Iceland - have steeled them for Sweden.
"We analysed that Germany [away] game with the players [Ireland lost 3-0 in September 2020]. The big step forward was, at half-time, we reset the tasks. The second half was a completely different outcome.
"The first half we were so impressed with Germany's resistance. It was the first time for many of our players [to come up against that level]. Those players have now experienced that.
"That is why we played all the friendlies last year against high level teams. Players need to experience that amount of pressure to grow and not make mistakes in their tasks. We learned from that game that we needed lots of high level opposition. I think we’ve grown from then.
"I was proud of how the players responded back then in the second half. They completely turned the game upside down. That’s how we dealt with that. You need to fail to succeed later."
Republic of Ireland squad
Goalkeepers: Courtney Brosnan (Everton), Grace Moloney (Reading), Megan Walsh (Brighton & Hove Albion), Eve Badana (DLR Waves)
Defenders: Harriet Scott (Birmingham City), Niamh Fahey (Liverpool), Louise Quinn (Birmingham City), Claire Walsh (Glasgow City), Chloe Mustaki (Shelbourne), Megan Campbell (Liverpool), Áine O'Gorman (Peamount United)
Midfielders: Katie McCabe (Arsenal), Denise O’Sullivan (North Carolina Courage), Megan Connolly (Brighton & Hove Albion), Ruesha Littlejohn (Aston Villa), Jamie Finn (Birmingham City), Ciara Grant (Rangers), Jess Ziu (Shelbourne), Lily Agg (London City Lionesses), Lucy Quinn (Birmingham City), Isibeal Atkinson (Celtic)
Forwards: Heather Payne (Florida State University), Kyra Carusa (HB Hoge), Amber Barrett (FC Koln), Leanne Kiernan (Liverpool), Ellen Molloy (Wexford Youths), Abbie Larkin (Shelbourne)
Watch Sweden v Republic of Ireland (Tuesday 12 April, 5.30pm), live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, with live blog on RTÉ News app and RTE.ie/Sport
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Watch Sweden v Republic of Ireland (Tuesday 12 April, 5.30pm), live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player, with live blog on RTÉ News app and RTE.ie/Sport
