Vera Pauw: Training with boys will help Ireland women cope with qualification pressure 

The Ireland head coach has detailed her plans to have home-based players training regularly with boys youth teams

Ireland WNT Head coach Vera Pauw. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

Failing to perform under pressure cost Ireland’s women in the qualification campaign for the European Championship, says head coach Vera Pauw, who has explained her plan to have players train with boys to replicate “the resistance that they feel in the international games”.

A 1-0 defeat in Ukraine, having won the home leg 3-2, ultimately meant Ireland missed out on a playoff for the finals.