Stephen Kenny: 'Vera’s legacy is that Ireland qualified for the World Cup'
Stephen Kenny believes Vera Pauw did a “terrific” job in charge of the Republic of Ireland Women’s National Team and that she can be “very proud” of what she achieved during her reign.
Pauw’s time in charge of the Girls in Green was officially brought to an end late on Tuesday night - although she was technically out of contract since the end of their Women’s World Cup campaign - when the FAI board voted against extending her near four-year tenure.
Kenny’s position at the helm of the Men’s National Team is also under scrutiny but speaking shortly after announcing his 25-man squad for their upcoming crunch Euro 2024 qualifiers against France and the Netherlands, the former Dundalk boss, who spoke with Pauw over the phone on Thursday morning, insisted she can be proud of her accomplishments with Ireland.
“Listen, Vera’s legacy is that Ireland qualified for the World Cup and it’s a great achievement and she did a terrific job as Ireland manager,” said Kenny.
“I had a good relationship (with her), I spoke to her after she came back from Australia, she actually rang me this morning and I spoke to her this morning.
“It wasn’t the ending she wanted, she can be very proud of her achievements as manager of the women’s team and she did a terrific job.”
Notable call-ups into Kenny's squad include defender Shane Duffy, who was impressed since joining Norwich this summer, and striker Aaron Connolly, who has received his first call-up to the senior squad since October 2021 after netting on three occasions for the Tigers this term.
“Listen, Aaron is not really…it’s unusual to pick someone who is not starting, he’s not been starting for Hull,” continued Kenny.
“But everyone knows it’s not been a straightforward journey for Aaron but he
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