EILEEN GLEESON INSISTS she had no part to play in Vera Pauw’s departure as Ireland manager and is adamant the continued fallout from the World Cup review won’t have a bearing on applications for the permanent position.

Veteran international Diane Caldwell provided a scathing assessment of the former head coach’s tenure, but interim boss Gleeson has defended the players and their right to voice their opinion.

She also insisted the return of Tyler Toland, who had not been selected by Pauw since November 2019 after a public fallout, was purely a football-related decision.

As attention turns to the upcoming Nations League campaign, the Girls in Green face Northern Ireland in a historic opening fixture at Aviva Stadium this Saturday but the build-up continues to be dominated by Pauw’s absence and the relationship with her squad.

Caldwell brought that back into focus yesterday following a press conference from FAI chief executive Jonathan Hill and director of football Marc Canham that attempted to draw a line under the issue last week.

Gleeson spent two years as assistant to Pauw before departing to take charge of Glasgow City. In January of this year the FAI appointed her Head of Women and Girls’ Football, reporting to Canham.

Hill explained last week how 31 people were interviewed as part of the World Cup review but Gleeson revealed that she was not one of them.

“I wasn’t anything part of any reviews or decision-making process,” she said. “We talk about continuity, I talk about my familiarity with the Irish football landscape.

“In terms of specific style that’s going to happen on Saturday, everyone wants more goals, everyone wants us to this, to do that, but what we have to work with is the squad we have, the capacities within it and the opposition we’re playing against.

“I would say this is a really privileged role to come into. The team has huge potential, that the federation are offering all support, I think it’s quite an attractive role. There are a great group of girls there. People have opinions; players, public, coaches. This is what it is. I would have no doubt there would be a lot of applicants for the role.

“There is no escaping the elephant in the room or what’s gone on and the noise that’s around the camp. We had a brief discussion on it but the focus is on the performance in this Nations League campaign. The immediate focus is on Saturday, the introduction of new staff, ways we’re moving forward, so that’s where we place most of the emphasis and having a positive vibe around the place.”

Toland, a talented midfielder now plying her trade with Blackburn Rovers, has come into the fold and Gleeson stressed the reasoning was simple.

“I’m at pains to state that this is a football decision around picking Tyler is mutually exclusive to anything that’s gone on before with Vera. So if you’re picking up something between the lines that’s up to you as your interpretation, but what I’m clearly saying is that Tyler’s selection is based on a football decision, it’s based on her increased minutes for her club, and more importantly availability and then more for us to watch.”

With centurion Emma Byrne now part of the interim set-up, Glesson also spoke about the importance of ensuring key roles are filled with women, although she refused to be drawn on whether the next permanent manager had to be a woman.

“As I said, I’m not involved in the decision-making process, I’m not going to commit to anything on that,” she said, having also been quizzed on putting her name in the mix for the role herself.

“I’m here in the interim and I’m very happy to be here in the interim. Working with the girls, working with the team, driving the game forward. In the broader picture, increasing participation, opportunities for girls to play and beyond that opportunities for women to be across the whole football ecosystem in different roles.

“To be in decision-making roles, leadership roles. That’s what I want. I want to see more women, more women, that’s what we want in the leadership roles. As the time goes on and we develop that role, we will see what that looks like.

“Emma [Byrne] coming in, is a step towards that. Capturing those women that are already available and providing opportunities for them. That’s exactly what we’ve done.”