It's five months exactly since Republic of Ireland defender Diane Caldwell lifted the lid on the true level of discontent among the squad with elements of Vera Pauw's managerial style.
The Balbriggan native offered a clinical assessment of Pauw's tenure, saying: "From my position as a pretty experienced player, I don't think it was up to the standard expected at international level. I think the results, performances that we got, were in spite of Vera being coach."
Caldwell got a token runout off the bench in stoppage time of Ireland's final World Cup group game against Nigeria. She had been on the periphery under Pauw, behind Louise Quinn, Niamh Fahey and Megan Connolly in the Irish back line.
Now aged 35, she made a mockery of any talk retirement might be on the cards in the wake of the tournament Down Under by forcing her way back into the starting 11 for the UEFA Nations League campaign and excelling within Eileen Gleeson's more expansive approach.
"When you have the ball the game is easier."
Did Caldwell feel she had a point to prove after her public criticism of Pauw?
"Yeah possibly, but you know what? My thinking was, I missed out on playing at the biggest stage at the World Cup and that really, really hurt me," she said, discounting her brief appearance off the bench against the Nigerians.
"When Eileen came in and gave me the chance to start I just wanted to enjoy playing again. I just wanted to embrace having the jersey on my back again, playing in front of the Irish fans.
"A big moment for me was the Aviva game [against Northern Ireland]. I really wanted to do it for myself, to focus on things I can control, focus on playing well and enjoying being out there with the girls again because honestly I really missed that for a long time.
"You always want to be playing, you always want to be qualifying for tournaments, that's been my goal since I first started playing for Ireland all those years ago. So obviously [making it to the Euros] is another goal, that never changes regardless of the situation or the circumstances. That’s a big goal."
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Ireland are in Florence, prepping for Friday's friendly against Italy. They welcome Wales to Tallaght Stadium the following Tuesday, and will learn who they're up against in the Euro 2025 qualifiers [which begin in April] when the draw is made on 5 March.
Last summer, Pauw suggested she had to set the side up to play deep defence because her defenders lacked pace. Now, they're playing such a high line that the likes of Caldwell and Louise Quinn are finishing matches with more yards clocked up than almost every other player.
It's another big year for a team that's massively changed tack.
"I think when you have the ball the game is easier," said Caldwell.
"I know I can think of a lot of games I played for Ireland where we didn't have the ball, and we were just running the whole time. They're really difficult games, you’re under pressure the whole time, and covering a lot of distance.
"But covering those distances with the ball is probably a bit easier; you’re in more control, you’re dominating the game. I wouldn’t say I’ve found it more physically demanding or more difficult like that. It’s a different way of playing. You’re just covering the yardage in a different way.
"To be honest I think I actually was surprised with how quickly we established that new style of play and how well it went straight away. Like in anything, sometimes it takes a little bit of time.
"You have to learn new ways of playing, new ways of thinking. Like in anything in life it normally takes a little bit of a transitional period but I think we just took off with it from the very first game. You can see we really enjoy playing that way and obviously it helps if you're successful and when you’re wining games and scoring a lot of goals, so the buy-in was definitely there from the very first moment.
"It was a really enjoyable campaign."
Caldwell is flying high with FC Zurich in Switzerland's Nationalliga A. The Euros will be on Swiss soil next year but there was controversy earlier this week when reports surfaced that government funding for the tournament is to be cut from 15 million francs [€15.8m] to four million [€4.2m].
"To be honest I actually didn’t really know that," said Caldwell. "That obviously would be disappointing if that’s the case.
"It’s obviously disappointing to hear especially at a time when women’s football I on the rise and you’ve seen the success of the last couple of tournaments in Australia and prior to that the Euros in England. It is a bit surprising."
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