Vera Pauw believes Arsenal and Ireland ace Katie McCabe is at her best when she is charging forward from deep.
The Girls in Green boss has long resisted calls to play the Tallaght star in an advanced position.
Speaking at the unveiling of a new €25,000 bursary from Sky to the women’s national team, she explained why she often preferred to start McCabe at left-back.
“When Katie plays up front at Arsenal, she always ends up a layer back. She always ends up one line back,” said Pauw.
“And I think it shows every time that when she’s getting there, she is more dangerous than when she is there already.
“For us, the biggest thing is that we get a pendulum working behind her, so that she can get there. Within the system that we play, on the left side, that is her strongest position.”
Pauw continued: “When she is up front she is less dangerous than when she is getting there.
“She is very good at seeing the gaps and spaces in front of her.
“You can see her often that she is getting the ball and that she is playing back, because she doesn’t see the option.
“But when the option is there, she gets in most of the time and then steams up, attacking the penalty area of the opponent.”
Pauw acknowledged that McCabe’s attacking instincts would likely be curbed in next month’s World Cup qualifier against runaway group leaders Sweden.
“Yeah, of course. It’s not that we want to sit back, but I’m afraid that Sweden will push us back,” she said.
Asked how she would approach the Gothenburg game, Pauw replied that she would prepare with training games against a boys’ side.
“When there is such a gap in the ranking - Sweden is number two in the world at this moment - then the only way to approach it is that we all realise the resistance that we will get, that we have felt the resistance that we will face,” she said.
“So we will slot in a boys’ game into that camp, more or less on the pressure of Sweden. It will be a huge pressure.
“Then it’s being ready for the tasks that you have to perform within teamwork. That’s the only way you can prepare yourselves.
“But what this team has is they never collapse. We have come back so often after a setback.
“This team will be strong. I think that is the key thing to get you qualifying - that you never collapse, no matter what happens.
“If we would have collapsed from the own goal [in the home game against Sweden], then it would have been 5-0 at home. But we didn’t collapse.
“That’s a whole process. We will work on that very much; what to do when you have that setback.”
SKY Ireland yesterday announced a bursary designed to support senior women’s players on their paths outside of football.
The ‘Sky WNT Fund’ will award a minimum of €25,000 this year, to assist five senior international players with their academic studies and career development off the pitch.
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