Vera Pauw's removal as Republic of Ireland manager was due to a "fundamental" difference in approach between her and the FAI, chief executive Jonathan Hill said in a press conference at Blanchardstown this morning.
Flanked by the association's director of football Marc Canham, Hill said the decision not to offer Pauw a new contract last month was based on the findings of the post-World Cup review, which consisted of over 30 interviews with players, staff and wider personnel, including Pauw herself.
While the detailed findings were confidential, Hill said the review flagged "recurring themes such as training methods, the style and nature of sessions and approaches to conditioning".
"Vera was very clear, consistent and open in stating, not just to us but also to her staff and players, that she believed her approach....was absolutely the right one, and indeed one she had adhered to right across her entire career.
"We are not doubting that conviction nor indeed her beliefs, but we do feel it is important to recognise that in professional football, as in wider sport, there are always disagreements and, at times, subsequent tension around style and preparation.
"The manager had her views and believed in her approach. A number of players and indeed Marc, simply had a different position.
"And what we are saying then in simple terms is that we genuinely believe that in order to propel the next phase of growth for this team, and women's and girls’ football in Ireland more broadly, we feel we need a different and fresh approach.
"There were indeed differences of opinion, but these are part and parcel of the game but it was clear from conversations with Vera that she was not going to change her fundamental approach."
Speaking to RTÉ Sport earlier this month Pauw claimed some of her staff turned on her in the final weeks of her tenure and also strongly criticised the FAI's process when conducting a review into the team's World Cup qualification campaign, and performance at the tournament itself.
The Dutch coach also criticised the FAI for promising her a new contract before the start of the World Cup, only to withdraw that offer, leading to Pauw missing out on other career opportunities.
Hill stressed that no formal contract renewal offer had been made to Pauw ahead of the World Cup.
On the matter of the NWSL allegations against Pauw, which re-surfaced in The Athletic ahead of the World Cup, Hill acknowledged that these did have a disruptive effect in advance of the tournament. However, he said that "it wasn't the content of the article but the effect of the article" which caused a distraction in the pre-World Cup preparations.
Hill added that there was "nothing in those allegations that reflected anything our players or our staff came to us to talk about."
Listen to the RTÉ Soccer podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
