Former Republic of Ireland boss Vera Pauw sat down with RTÉ Sport's Tony O'Donoghue on Friday for an exclusive and wide-ranging interview.
Here are some of the key quotes.
On feeling some staff turned against her
"I found out that behind my back all things were happening. I found out that behind my back even my staff was talking bad about the players, my assistant was talking bad about me to players; even the selection process, which was anonymous, he was questioning."
On what she believes are unfair claims made about her management methods
"I felt immediately that my assistant had set the benchmark with things that were absolutely ridiculous. For example he said there was no communication, we did not discuss things. Every morning we had a staff meeting and every single detail of my task was discussed, from the setup of the training sessions to the game plan, the strategies."
On the FAI's World Cup review
"That review was done by the technical director. He’s not trained to make reviews and he was part of the process, so the assignment on the technical director is something that… to do a review, immediately starting while still in camp after the Nigeria game, is something you cannot reflect. The evaluation has not been done, and he started with my assistant. First my assistant, then the communications manager, and I came in as the third person."
On interference in her coaching methods
"It was even so that the technical director said that he wanted to have a line and I was the only one doing something different, that the FAI wanted to have one… He doesn’t know that this is the line of the FAI, this is the coaching philosophy of the FAI, even in the new job description of the new Under 17 assistant manager that went out last week or two weeks ago."
On meeting with FAI executives to discuss the World Cup review
"I said can we conclude that this article [in The Athletic] has brought attention into that squad that we did not overcome? At first management said, ‘yes’, and then they thought ‘no, no no, no’. I said, ‘because of false accusations’. And then it was said, ‘false? Do we actually have a garda vetting of you Vera?’ I fell off my chair, because I don’t know why he said it. If you get a report about one of your employees in December 2022 the first thing you do is check if you have a garda vetting."
On her relationship with Katie McCabe
"We've spoken for over an hour with each other. We are absolutely fine with each other. I've seen a lot on Twitter regarding Katie. I hope that stops now. It's a young woman that made a mistake. I’ve made mistakes. Everybody makes mistakes. She should not be held accountable. I love Katie. Without spark no fire. And without fire no performance. Katie gives us so much. No hard feelings to her at all."
The full interview is be available to watch above, as well as on the RTÉ News app and RTÉ Sport YouTube.
