Northern Ireland captain Marissa Callaghan has spoken up in support of manager Kenny Shiels after his post-match comments caused controversy this week.
Speaking after his side's 5-0 World Cup qualifying defeat to England at Windsor Park on Tuesday night, Shiels said "women are more emotional than men".
The 65-year-old apologised for his comments on Wednesday.
Callaghan, who played in Tuesday's match, issued a statement on social media which said: "In light of recent events, collectively we stand by our manager.
"We feel his interview was in relation to a meeting we had as a team where we analysed that we concede goals in quick succession and emotions was one of the many things we discussed."
Callaghan added that Shiels "is a man of integrity who cares for us like a family."
— Marissa Callaghan (@marissac_17) April 14, 2022
