Republic of Ireland interim-manager Eileen Gleeson has claimed that the Ireland players are allowed to have their own opinions on Vera Pauw's previous Ireland tenure.
Ireland are set to play its first game since the World Cup this weekend when they welcome Northern Ireland to the Aviva in the Nations League. However, that will be without former boss Pauw, who did not have her Ireland deal renewed by the FAI this month.
Pauw hit out at the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) for conducting a "flawed" review during negotiations surrounding the extension of her contract as head coach of Ireland's Women's team. She also claimed that she was 'undermined' by senior members of the FAI.
The FAI broke their silence over the comments last week and said that there were "fundamental" differences in approach between her and the FAI.
There was more fuel added to the fire this week ahead of Ireland's game against Northern Ireland. On Monday, Republic of Ireland defender Diane Caldwell claimed that the success of the Irish Women's football team was due to the players and not their former manager, Pauw.
"From my position as a pretty experienced player, I don't think it was up to the standard I expected at the international level," she said on Monday.
"I think the results and performances that we got were in spite of Vera being our coach.
"We just need to raise our standards in all levels of performance on and off the pitch. Expectations of ourselves and expectations of staff.
"Increase the levels of professionalism across the board, in every facet, be it match analysis, opponent analysis, performance, nutrition, recovery, everything across the board to get the best out of us as players and as a group on the pitch.
"I think there are many areas that could have been better under her tenure. The same performance factors I just mentioned. I think preparation for games could have been better, physical preparation, opponent analysis, match tactics, in-game match tactics, changes, systems of play."
🗣 "Players are going to express themselves all the time."
🗣 "A player having an opinion is not a new thing."
☘ Interim Ireland coach Eileen Gleeson gives her thoughts on Diane Caldwell's comments regarding Vera Pauw's tenure yesterday.@williamhillire pic.twitter.com/8dRNUvY2Ho— Off The Ball (@offtheball) September 19, 2023
Gleeson, who was Pauw's number two before departing for Glasgow, will lead the Ireland team on an interim basis until the FAI finds a long-term replacement for Pauw.
The Dublin native was asked about Caldwell's comments and admitted that players are entitled to have their own opinions.
"Players are going to express themselves all the time," the interim Ireland manager said.
"We've all worked with players so we know players have opinions, and rightly so. It's their game, it's their performances, it's how they feel. They want to move forward.
"A player having an opinion is not a new thing. We're hearing plenty of opinions now, so a player having one is not at odds with human nature."
When pressed further about Caldwell's comments about Pauw, Gleeson wouldn't be drawn into a battle of 'he said, she said,' but added that the game on Saturday was of greater importance to the side.
"It's not for me to get into Diane's opinion or what Diane has said. Like I said, players have opinions, people have opinions, they're entitled to that, but we're not focusing on anything around that. We're just focusing on moving forward."
Ireland's next game will be against Northern Ireland in the Nations League. That game at the Aviva Stadium starts at 1pm on Saturday, September 23.
