Vera Pauw's strengths and weaknesses tapped from the same well

Vera Pauw's single-mindedness and absolute dedication to her methods were both a driving force and corrosive influence for the Republic of Ireland.

The 60-year-old Dutch woman took the reins four years ago after Ruud Dokter - then the FAI's high performance director - identified her as the perfect candidate to build on the progress made by previous boss Colin Bell.

She took some persuading; after chewing over the offer while on holiday in Austria with her husband Bert van Lingen, himself a highly experienced coach, Pauw decided to go for it.

She sensed an opportunity to emulate the success enjoyed with her native Netherlands, who she led to the semi-finals of Euro 2009, their first appearance at a major tournament.

Dokter concurred and said at her unveiling: "I can honestly say the success of the women's team in Holland is due to this lady here next to me. She was the driving force behind the development of women's football in Holland."

Once she took the gig, Pauw quickly began to mould the team in her image.

She was blunt, uncompromising and clinical. In her second game in charge, Ireland conceded a 92nd-minute equaliser to Greece but there was little sympathy from the manager afterwards.

"Everybody has fought their butt off, and done everything they could, but it needs to be better," she said matter-of-factly.

That result would come back to haunt Ireland as they fell short of making the play-offs for Euro 2022, their fate effectively sealed when they were beaten 1-0 by Ukraine after a freak Aine O'Gorman own goal.

Ireland, having lost their nerve that night, needed a strong character to pull them up off the floor and provide the leadership to convince them they could go again. Pauw fit the bill.

The FAI offered her a fresh