The passage of time will be kind on Vera Pauw's stint in charge of Ireland, but choosing her successor will be key to maintaining an upward trajectory for women's football, says former international Karen Duggan.
Pauw's reign ended last night after the FAI decided not to offer the Dutch woman a new contract, parting company with the 60-year-old after a meeting of the board.
Despite leading the Girls in Green to a maiden World Cup, her time at the helm was soured by allegations made around her stint at NWSL side Houston Dash.
Pauw has denied the allegations, while the tournament in Australia finished with a group stage exit and an on-field disagreement with captain Katie McCabe.
With growing speculation surrounding her position, RTÉ soccer analyst Duggan admitted she wasn’t surprised by the FAI announcement.
"There were rumblings before the World Cup she wanted to get the contract signed and then the article came out," she told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland.
"It wasn’t helped by how the World Cup ended, with unrest between her and the captain [Katie McCabe]. That brought about more questions and rumours. It caused a cloud over what should have been a constant celebration throughout the World Cup.
"It seemed like we were talking about anything but the football unfortunately.
"Reaching the World Cup can be never taken away from Vera. With the passage of time, her tenure will be looked back on very positively."
The FAI will now begin the process of finding Pauw's replacement ahead of Ireland's first Nations League clash against Northern Ireland at the Aviva Stadium on 23 September.
Duggan insists that making the correct appointment has never been so important.
"We are at such an important point in our development. Getting to the World Cup should be a catalyst for a huge uprise in the amount of players playing in this country," she said.
The FAI took a long time to make their decision last night, hopefully it won't take as long to bring in a candidate
"We need to make sure we have the right structures in place, and the right manager in place to nurture the talent that is already coming through.
"We have a lot of girls who are ageing. Whoever the new manager coming in, it is going to be a project. It can’t just be for one campaign, it has to be a vision for the team and someone who cares the direction football in the country is going.
"The FAI took a long time to make their decision last night, hopefully it won’t take as long to bring in a candidate, but it is important we get the right one."
That future will be without Pauw, appointed in 2019 when she took over from Colin Bell.
Marie Curtin, who won 55 caps for her country after making her debut in 2000, says the FAI would have been very wary over the consequences of offering Pauw a new contract despite her lofty standing with the public at large.
"There is a strong public perception of Vera out there. She has presented herself well from a footballing sense," she said.
"She has taken us to a first World Cup, the world ranking (22) has never been better and that is great progression.
"Her reign you can see is a very successful one, but cracks seemed to appear with this report over allegations of her time in America. Being named on that report has to be taken seriously by the FAI and it’s very risky on them to keep her around with all this looming.
"If this is brought up again, which it will be, it is not a good look to have her attached to the FAI. More importantly, you question that environment for the players.
"We have heard of cracks there in terms of players not backing her. That’s very concerning if you don’t have that buy in from players."
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