Sue Ronan laments FAI's 'missed opportunity' over managerial decision

Former Republic of Ireland manager Sue Ronan believes that the failure to have a full-time appointment in place for the UEFA Women's Nations League campaign is a "missed opportunity".

Vera Pauw's departure in the Irish hot seat saw Eileen Gleeson handed the role as interim manager.

She has presided over a historic first appearance at the Aviva Stadium and the Girls in Green have swept Hungary, Northern Ireland and Albania aside to seal promotion to League A with two games to spare.

Gleeson was initially emphatic about her intention to return to her role as head of women's and girls' football once a permanent replaced for Vera Pauw was found, but the Dubliner has shied away from completely ruling herself out more recently.

FAI CEO Jonathan Hill said in October that 12 candidates had been whittled down to three, more recently stating the FAI "would like to be able to announce as soon as possible after the final Nations League game".

Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Ronan said that ideally the appointment would have been made before the conclusion of the Nations League campaign.

"No disrespect to the opposition but we always knew they are not as good as we are – we should be winning these games, and we have done so far," she said.

"It would have been ideal to have whoever is going to take the team going forward working with the team during these six games to bed in their own philosophy, I guess."

Ronan, who was in charge of Ireland for half a dozen years before stepping away in 2016, acknowledged the timing of Pauw’s exit made things tricky for the FAI.

"I suppose the short timeframe from when Vera finished and the first game was only a couple of weeks, so that (permanent appointment) maybe wasn’t going to be possible for the