Carla Ward takes blame for Ireland's 'unacceptable' Slovenia implosion

Head coach Carla Ward said the Republic of Ireland produced a "completely unacceptable" first-half performance against Slovenia, but insists a chastening evening in Koper will will not change her footballing philosophy.

Ward has aired her desire to liberate the Girls in Green when it comes to keeping hold of the ball and creating more chances. An attacking 4-4-2 setup against the Slovenians signalled that intent, however it spectacularly backfired as the hosts picked Ireland apart on the break.

They were 3-0 up by half-time, forcing Ward into a tactical rethink. Her side improved on the turnaround, but a comeback never looked likely and Slovenia plundered a fourth goal late on.

"The first half was horrible," Ward told RTÉ Sport. "That's on me. I've tried something different, I've tried to get us in positions to create more, and it's not paid off.

"At half-time we had to readjust and in the second half I thought we were much, much better but you can't have a half of football like that and expect to win the game.

"We can take mistakes, but then the reaction to those mistakes is what I'm looking at. That was probably the biggest message at half-time, we had to tactically adjust as well. It's a horrible night but what I would say is, it's a huge learning curve at the minute.

"I'm asking them to do different things. It's my job to get that right and I think it's important that I take that pressure off the players because, yes they go out there, but I'm giving them the message."

Asked whether she might consider amending her approach after Ireland also laboured to a 1-0 win over Turkey last Friday, Ward replied: "No. I think you could see across both games what we're trying to do. My philosophy has been the same, and it's served me