Just how do you follow that? International team coach Vera Pauw has decided to call it a day after she has taken Scotland's women to the top 16 in Europe. She has resigned from the post that she has held for four years and will finish at the SFA at the end of August. She was asked to raise the standard of Scotland's women players and not many people could say she failed. She took her team to top place in their UEFA qualifying group and so achieved promotion to the top category of women's football for the first time. Pauw has set them up nicely to aim for qualifying for the Championship Finals in 2005. Pauw along with her coaches have enabled Scottish women's football to achieve respect. It was through her efforts that top players such as Julie Fleeting have been brought to the attention of professional teams abroad.
It was not a surprise that Pauw handed in her notice. She is married to Bert van Lingen who has taken up a coaching post with the Dutch FA after his time at Rangers. Just who will be able to follow the degree of progress PAuw achieved? The job will be advertised shortly and the SFA will be looking for applicants of the highest calibre to carry on the team's progress. Is this the next job that Martin O'Neill will be linked with?
