REPUBLIC OF IRELAND women’s national football team manager Vera Pauw has strongly defended her team’s style of play and tactical approach.

Former Irish international Karen Duggan questioned it in a recent column for The Irish Times titled, ‘Can Vera Pauw’s team advance at the World Cup? Not with the current approach’.

“Manager should abandon the low block, trust her central defenders and set Katie McCabe and Denise O’Sullivan free,” the Peamount United captain wrote in the wake of last month’s 0-0 friendly draw against China PR.

“Of course I’m a bit disappointed, especially hearing it from a player who has retired,” Pauw told reporters yesterday when asked about the column after Sky’s International Women’s Day Panel Event.

“I’m sure if you’ve enough insight in the game you think hmm. For example, [Karen wrote about] Denise and Katie being too far away from each other. They are probably too close to each other, because Denise is literally five metres away from Katie. So actually, it is the opposite.

“If you play 5-4-1 you need to grasp and you need to develop the play in between the lines, especially the sitters need to stay deep. We were discussing that maybe we need to find a moment to explain confidentially what we are actually doing, the technical part of it, with the board and video.

“Yes, we do need to score. Yes, we do need to get [in the opponent's half] more often. It is not that I love a deep block, I love winning, and we need to be realistic and stay with our feet on the ground. The low block is not me but the low block is what this team needs to perform and win.

“It’s not for nothing that the bookmakers put us on 9/2 in Scotland. We have performed as a team so well, and that starts with not conceding.”

Pauw — largely content with her side’s goalscoring efforts — went on to explain her reasoning behind playing five at the back and assured her team are also capable of operating in a 4-2-3-1 formation and can revert to that when necessary. 

“Attacking-wise, that looks better but defensively not good enough. We have fantastic players at the back, but we do not have the fastest players at the back. So as soon as there is an extra player coming from midfield, if you play with four at the back, they run in between you and they get on pace behind you. That is why we have five at the back, so that we can put pressure on the wing without losing the security in the centre. That is why we have two in front of them who can immediately go forward but still be the cover of the attack.

“We actually go from 5-4-1 almost to 3-4-3, and we even go with more players in attack. But then you need to get in the half of the opponent. So that is our biggest worry now, how to get in the half of the opponent in a controlled way. Because we also see that for now it’s more like winning space. Winning space, get the ball out so we are there and then we can play. Karen said Kyra Carusa is brilliant in coming back deep to get the ball. Yes, that’s perfect analysis. But then we would not end up in the half of the opponent. That is the key. We need to get a player that can get us in the half of the opponent.”

Heather Payne does just that, Pauw noted. The Florida State University star is not there to score goals, but to play that role. The ever-versatile McCabe is instrumental in attack, though as ever, the captain’s positioning is in the spotlight.

“We are constantly debating if Katie is more effective on the side. But remember that she was always pushed back. Now she is further forward. But what we need to take care of is that she gets space. She is restricted in her space. That is our biggest problem.”

Finding a balance is key. Going too attacking could lead to a disastrous World Cup. “How would I say this? If you open yourself up and you could lose 5-0,” Pauw stressed.

The Ireland boss also confirmed that Leanne Kiernan remains in the World Cup frame despite yesterday’s injury update. Liverpool manager Matt Beard said the 23-year-old striker is “at the earliest, 10 weeks away” from returning after a series of setbacks.

Leanne Kiernan. Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO

“It’s not something that is new for us. Leanne’s actually going well in her return to play. We’re not going to put huge pressure on it because this is an injury if you are a second too early, then you can ruin a career. We are leaving it completely up to Liverpool because her health is the more important thing for us.

“Leanne has confirmed that she’s actually on the track that we discussed before. I spoke to her this morning and she’s actually very energetic. She’s very positive and feeling that she’s getting there. Fingers crossed it is in time.”

The management team are still monitoring two new players who could come into next month’s camp and USA double-header, after Aoife Mannion, Marissa Sheva and Deborah Anne De La Harpe were called up last time out.

Pauw added that for “not a second” did she hesitate about, or fear, returning to the US after allegations of misconduct were made against her in a NWSL/NWSLPA report released in December 2022.

Having previously vowed to be prepared for any potential backlash and “nastiness,” Pauw said yesterday she has experienced “hardly” any since the announcement — “only one or two lunatics”.

“My family, they asked me who do you do this to yourself? I am there to get players to the World Cup, and have the best preparation for the World Cup. We get this now on our plate. Why would I say no? That would mean depriving them of getting the best preparation.

“That is the only task I have on my plate, not to save myself or protect myself, so I know that it can nasty maybe, I will regret after. We’ll see, I need to be strong and I need to be prepared and I will prepare myself.

“The support I’ve got from Ireland is spreading. You guys know me, that I’m not like that. You can say maybe I’m harsh or taking the wrong decisions on the pitch, but you know I didn’t do what they’ve written. That’s not me.”