Vera Pauw says allegations made against her in a report by the US National Women's Soccer League [NWSL] should not detract from the Republic of Ireland players' "magic year".
Pauw was named among several managers and coaches in a report by the NWSL that discovered widespread, ongoing misconduct in the NWSL.
The investigation unit received reports of ongoing misconduct at "more than half" of the NWSL clubs during the 14-month inquiry.
The report claimed Pauw - who was in charge at Houston Dash in 2018 - attempted to "exert excessive control" over her players' "eating habits" and that it was not in "best practice".
Pauw has strongly denied all allegations and on Friday said she will consider the possibility of legal action.
"I don't feel any guilt in this," she said. "I don't feel it has anything to do with that fantastic performance that we have done with Ireland. We made the impossible possible, so I don’t want to take that away from the players.
"It’s their performances, their magic year. It’s a magic year for women’s football in Ireland. And this is completely separate. This is going back to 2018. It has nothing to do with those fantastic tigers of Ireland, really nothing to do with them. So I hope that everybody realises that."
Pauw has endured an emotional rollercoaster in 2022, personally and professionally.
In July the Republic of Ireland manager released a statement alleging that she was raped as a young player in the Netherlands. Pauw revealed she'd suffered abuse and serious sexual assault during her time as a player and coach in Dutch football.
In the months since, she has publicly thanked the Irish public on a number of occasions for their overwhelmingly positive support. There has been an enormous sense of goodwill towards the Dutchwoman who broke ground with Ireland, leading them to a first-ever Women's World Cup thanks to a memorable play-off victory over Scotland in October.
That win was soured by the dressing-room footage of squad members singing The Wolfe Tones' Celtic Symphony in the dressing-room afterwards. At the time Pauw made no excuses for the incident, saying: "The values that we carry is that we have respect for everybody. The first meeting with the players was about having respect, that's how we work."
The FAI were later fined €20,000 by UEFA for 'violating rules of decent conduct'.
On Friday Pauw said her management style hasn't changed over the years; that her approach at Houston Dash was the same as her approach to the Ireland job.
She again reiterated that she feels "supported 100% from the FAI and my colleagues" and when asked if she has reflected on whether she perhaps could have handled some situations differently, Pauw replied: "Of course, that's the first thing I asked. That is why I said I am so proud of the FAI, that they do take it seriously but not in a way that they go with the stream and hammer.
"That they really want to know what has happened, how are we going to treat this, do we need to take action?
"Of course I doubt myself, I doubt myself every single day, as soon as a player reacts in a way I did not expect I think, 'did I do it well'. I am always questioning my staff if there is something I need to do different.
"So I question myself but I do not recall any moment of disrespectful behaviour of anyone, I have always been busy to stop disrespectful behaviour, from players, staff, people around the WNSL."
