Ireland boss says she ‘will never win from a lie’ over body-shaming allegations

Republic of Ireland manager Vera Pauw insists she "will never win from a lie" and will have to carry allegations she body-shamed players for the rest of her life.

The Dutchwoman has previously strongly refuted the claims made in a report on misconduct in the National Women's Soccer League relating to the period she was in charge of Houston Dash.

Further allegations from former players emerged this week and have overshadowed the team's preparations for the Women's World Cup which will see them play France at Tallaght Stadium on Thursday in their final game before departing.

"I think it is the same story as in December. It is something from a few anonymous players and how can you defend yourself against a lie?" she told a press conference.

"I will never win from a lie. That is clear now. I have to live with it and carry it with me for the rest of my life I'm afraid."

The original report claimed Pauw "shamed players for their weight" and "attempted to exert excessive control over eating habits".

"Go through the allegations and put Pep Guardiola, Louis Van Gaal or [Jose] Mourinho in that and you would laugh about it," Pauw added.

"It is all about coaching, it is not about anything else. I don't want to go into details because it is nonsense and untrue.

"There is great safety in the truth and that truth is with me. The people around me, the people who know me and the people who saw me working know that is not true.

"We are going to a World Cup. We have done phenomenally with this team and I would never have been able to do that if our bond with each other had not been so strong or positive."

Ireland's captain Katie McCabe admits she has had disagreements with Pauw but insists things have never crossed a line and they are both focused on doing the best for the team.

"Vera has a style of management that we are used to over the last two years," she said.

"We've worked together, we've argued with each other as you're never going to get on 100 per cent with your manager at times. She pushes me and I push her.

"We have clashed many times but we are always professional enough to make sure we are fully focused for the team.

"Both of our hearts are in the right place in terms of what is best for the Ireland women's national team going forward.

"This is such a massive time in Ireland for women's football and it's frustrating we can't be here talking about our massive send-off game tomorrow [Thursday] and the fact we are heading to our first major tournament.

"It takes the sting out of it from the team's point of view."

The Football Association of Ireland issued a statement on Monday saying it was "fully focused on supporting Vera and the women's team".

The Dutchwoman has guided the Republic of Ireland to this year's World Cup, which will be the first time the country competes at a major women's finals.

What is the World Cup schedule?

The group stage will begin on July 20 and run over a two-week period finishing on August 3 and see group winners and runners-up progress to the round of 16, which takes place from August 5 to August 8.

The quarter-finals, which will be held in Wellington, Auckland, Brisbane and Sydney, are scheduled for August 11 and 12.

The first semi-final will then be played on August 15 in Auckland, with the other semi-final taking place on August 16 at the Accor Stadium in Sydney, which will then host the final on August 20.

A third-place play-off will be played the day before the final on August 19 in Brisbane.