Stephanie Zambra: 'Whether you agree with how Vera works, you’ve got to give her credit'
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The pile-on is well underway towards Vera Pauw but Stephanie Zambra doesn’t feel her strides for the Ireland women’s game should be tainted by the outcry.
That Pauw is no longer at the helm has nothing to do with her results or public popularity, rather the strain that developed in relationships with her players and employers.
Nobody can extract her historic feat of steering Ireland to a World Cup but Diane Caldwell certainly removed a coat of sheen on Monday by crediting the players and not the coach for the watershed.
Zambra wasn’t in tune with the depth of her former teammate’s criticism but can resonate with the frustrations endured by the players at the tournament in Australia.
The nature of her being shunted to the margins midway through the campaign – when Pauw spent a personal video analysis session on her phone - could cause her to be bitter but she retains a level of professional respect.
Zambra resisted invites from US and UK outlets to put the boot in when the storm of allegations from the US fed into a media frenzy as the World Cup beckoned.
She only hopes that the fallout from the unsightly mess doesn’t turn the public on the Irish players. They face Northern Ireland in Saturday’s Nations League opener, the first-ever at the Aviva Stadium.
“A lot of people are new to the women’s game because of the World Cup and probably thought Vera is the greatest manager ever,” explained the Shamrock Rovers attacker.
“Whether you agree with how Vera works, her training, her methods, whatever she does, you’ve got to give her credit for getting the women’s team to a World Cup. That’s something that probably hasn’t come across very well since Vera left.
“I played with Diane for a long time and she’s one of the most professional players I’ve ever worked with. For years, she played in Germany where most of the training methods would’ve been completely contradicted by Vera. They had totally different opinions so I’m not surprised about the clash.
“Still, if I’m honest, I felt the comments lacked a little bit of respect for Vera. You must acknowledge she was part of getting us to the World Cup, even though I felt we could have done better in the tournament.”
Zambra’s former Peamount United manager Eileen Gleeson is in temporary charge for a period that could cover all six Nations League matches, culminating in the rematch against the North, up the M1 on December 5.
Whoever is lured to the permanent position has a bunch capable of sustaining this successful period – once their strengths are maximised.
“They need to bring new ideas,” she said of the wishlist.
“Ireland needs to move on from this image of a team that just puts up a fight and is difficult to beat. I’d like to see us be more attacking – and start that on Saturday by switching to a back-four.
“Katie McCabe and Denise O’Sullivan need to be positioned higher up the pitch. I believe we can have a better outlook than just hoping not to lose.”
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