Ireland women's team boss Vera Pauw has spoken of her excitement at the showdown with Greece, in a wide-ranging interview with Off The Ball.

Pauw spoke ahead of the crucial qualifiers for the UEFA Women's Championship, where Ireland face both Greece and Montenegro.

Eschewing the usual anxiety that accompanies a crucial Ireland match, Pauw spoke of the "joy" she feels in working with the side.

"Everybody is so focused, we have so much quality in the team - you can see the team growing every minute that we are together," said Pauw.

"The team is growing every single day. That is such a joy to work with and gives such trust in Thursday, that we will be there and ready.

"If that is not enough then we have to be honest, but we think that it is enough to steam through to become second in the group.

"We truly believe that we can do that."

'Nasty' Greece

Pauw believes that Thursday's opponents will pose both a technical and a physical challenge.

"Greece are nasty, a bit mean, to be honest!

"We have a Spanish referee so we truly hope that they can cope with that because we had some troubles with that. It went a bit too far and nobody was stopping them.

"They have some very good footballers but we have more quality in our team; we have better teamwork in the sense of variety in our play.

"But they fight to the end. They will fight to the 95th minute if necessary, they keep going and going when they see that they can get something."

However, the team are up for the fight - in the right way.

"We will fight fire with a smile. That is what we have agreed."

Development

Pauw is also passionate about the development of the women's game, having worked in several countries during her playing and management careers.

"In the past, everyone was trying to copy the United States in the women's game; trying to get strong legs and power in the team.

"Now the game has grown and has gone to a game that carries the culture of the country. So, the Brazilian national team becomes more and more like the men's Brazilian national team.

"That team then starts to play more like that country. That is the same for Germany, France, Italy or Spain.

"That is so good to see because the young women get a good education and a good development pathway.

"Before, that wasn't there - but now you can see the development pathway and the different cultures on the pitch."

Subscribe to Off The Ball's YouTube channel for more videos, like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter for the latest sporting news and content.