Gleeson: 'There is a lot of noise around the camp - lots of pressure on the performance'
Eileen Gleeson admits the noise around the Ireland camp has mounted the pressure on Ireland’s players for Saturday’s Nations League opener.
The FAI are estimating a 30,000 turnout for the first-ever senior international at Aviva Stadium when neighbours Northern Ireland make the short hop down the M1.
Gleeson has been installed on a caretaker basis to fill the void while her boss Marc Canham headhunts a permanent appointment but the fallout from Vera Pauw’s fractious exit has engulfed preparations.
That spiked on Monday when stalwart Diane Caldwell launched a blistering attack on the Dutchwoman’s four-year reign, adamant the team’s progress to a first World Cup in the summer was attributable to the players’ efforts, not the head coach.
It merely verbalised the body language and non-committal answers from her colleagues during the tournament in Australia, indicative of player power forcing the FAI to change guard.
Interestingly, Caldwell’s detailed critique stretched to Pauw’s early days as boss. She had Gleeson as her assistant from the start of her role in 2019 until 2021 when the Dubliner left to take up the managerial reins at Glasgow City.
Asked today about her awareness of Caldwell and captain Katie McCabe raising concerns about Pauw’s methods to Pauw’s predecessor Ruud Dokter, the interim boss played a straight bat, refusing to comment either way.
What she did acknowledge was the attention on the squad arising from the month of controversy. They are top seeds in their Nations League, firm favourites to take six points from Saturday and the trip to Hungary next Tuesday. They meet Albania home and away next month.
“There is a lot of noise around the camp - lots of pressure on the performance,” confessed the former DLR
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