Vera Pauw still in the dark over Ireland future

Vera Pauw's Republic of Ireland future remains clouded by uncertainty, with the manager's current contract due to expire in the next few weeks.

Pauw has consistently aired her desire to remain at the helm. At the start of June she said that her representative Ciaran Medlar was in talks with the FAI about a possible new deal, but those discussions appear to have stalled.

It's now possible that Monday's World Cup group clash with Nigeria in Brisbane will be Pauw's final game in charge of the Girls in Green, though the 61-year-old refused to dwell on that possibility.

"I have been clear and I stick with that," she said when asked about her contract situation.

"I have not heard yet, but I have been clear to the FAI, to everyone, to the public. I am preparing for a game and I have not heard yet.

"I am here in a tournament and I have said I want only the performance here. I'm a professional so my personal issues do not matter at all at this moment. We have a huge game on Monday, and I mean that. I won’t even want to talk at this moment.

"All my energy needs to go into getting this group ready again for a world-class performance."

"If you don't feel that you can touch players anymore, that is the moment [to leave]."

Pauw is almost four years in the job, having succeeded Colin Bell in September 2019.

She remains confident that the squad is fully behind her, adding: "The only thing I can say is what I can see and that is that players are buying into the gameplans and that we are playing every game better.

"If you don't feel that you can touch players anymore, that is the moment [to leave]. But usually that’s around year six or so, when players get tired and the coach gets tired.

"As long as we move up every game playing better, and having