After watching her team offer more evidence they have the tools to square up to quality teams, Eileen Gleeson leaned heavily into one word in particular: "adaptablity".
Ireland were without Denise O'Sullivan and Tyler Toland for Friday's stalemate with world No 14 Italy in Florence, the midfield pair having been ever present during the flawless UEFA Nations League campaign.
And yet a new-look engine room gelled impressively well as Jessie Stapleton, Megan Connolly and Ruesha Littlejohn dovetailed with flying wingers Izzy Atkinson and Jess Ziu.
The only thing this strong display lacked was a goal - and they were unlucky not to get it after Leanne Kiernan finished off a superb 74th-minute move only to see the offside flag [questionably] raised.
It augurs well for the Euro 2025 qualifiers, which begin in April when Ireland will be pitted against three of the top 16-ranked teams in Europe in a four-team group.
"I think it was a very solid performance," said Gleeson, who has overseen six wins and one draw from her seven games in charge to date.
"I'm proud of the girls. We adapted a lot, we changed to a back four tonight to see how we looked in that. We changed people’s positionings and I think it was a really solid performance. We adapted really well, we went toe to toe, and if Leanne was a millisecond slower we’ve a goal."
"We're here and I think we've shown tonight that we certainly belong there."
A 4-1-4-1 formation was a tweak to the 3-5-2 that served Ireland so well during the autumn, but Gleeson explained they were keen to show they are capable of changing things if they have to.
"The big thing for us is that we want to be adaptable. We don’t want to be tied to any one system or formation and we more talk about how we occupy space.
"We still pushed up higher, we were still aggressive in the press, we still had out-balls that would at times put us into a back three and be able to push up a full-back higher and a wide player inside. We want to be able to adapt, we want to be able to play in three, four, five, whatever we need to do, whatever suits us, whatever suits the attributes of the team and whoever the opposition are."
On Tuesday, Ireland welcome a decent Wales side to Tallaght Stadium for the second part of their friendly double-header. There will be changes to the starting XI for that one as the boss utilises a squad that is starting to look extremely healthy.
Niamh Fahey [above] and Jess Ziu both returned after lengthy international absences, while the excellent Jessie Stapleton did her future hopes no harm with a very effective stint in the middle of the park.
The vibes are good as Ireland trundle towards an enormous late spring/early summer.
"Over the last few years, they've become hard to beat, but I think in terms of the potential, they wanted to express themselves, a bit more creativity and [play] a bit more higher up the pitch," Gleeson added.
"I think that they've shown that they can do that. Of course there's things to work on [from] that performance, areas to work on, but really promising, a lot of potential.
"The talent pool is getting deeper, we're getting more options, we've got some very good young players coming through, we've got more players playing in higher level leagues and fully professional. I think it's a really positive time for the team.
"We wanted to be in League A [of the Nations League]. We're here and I think we've shown tonight that we certainly belong there."
