England coach Hope Powell under scrutiny from the press after bowing out of Euro2013 | (Credit: Getty Images) England coach Hope Powell under scrutiny from the press after bowing out of Euro2013 | (Credit: Getty Images)

Call it tough love or call it home truths but as the women's game continues to grow, more matches are broadcast and media coverage is provided, the players, coaches and management should be prepared to come under more scrutiny.

In a day and age when everyone wants to tell their child "good job" my Mother used to always give my three siblings and I criticism.  The criticism was always constructive and interspaced and tempered with those words of encouragement and acknowledgement of good deeds.  But she never spared us when we didn't do well enough and was sure to point out areas where we needed improvement.

Mum always said "I tell you this because I love you.  I tell you this because I care".  Needless to say at the time I didn't believe her but looking back it, was those constructive criticism and that pushing to continually improve that prepared me for the real world.

In the last couple of years, and in particular during the Olympics and this current Euro 2013 Championships, there is a sense that people are starting to care about women's football and we need to embrace it.

I am not talking about some of the ridiculous, vitriolic and downright abusive commentary that surrounds men's football but the critical tactical analysis of a team and their performances, the examination of a manager and their decisions on and off the pitch and the evaluation of a player's efforts on the park.

For a long time women's football has been ignored and because of the amateur nature of the game, in the early years there was a prevalent attitude of "Oh you were unlucky there" or "Well done, you tried your hardest".  That is still around at the lower levels but it should not prevail at the upper echelon.

Moving into the era of full professionalism, and those of involved sincerely hope it will continue happen, players, coaches and administrators should be made more accountable for a team's performance.  "Trying hard" is to be the base of a performance and it should not be enough anymore.

Take for instance SBS's coverage of France v Australia two weeks ago.  It was refreshing to hear Sarah Walsh's expert commentary and Danielle Brogan and Craig Foster's analysis of the match.  While they highlighted where the Matildas performed well against the French, they also did not sugar coat the glaring areas in need of improvement.

The analysis was not a "women's football" type analysis, it was just a football analysis.  That the Matildas had problems with maintaining possession, that the French controlled proceedings, that we were overrun in the final third and defensively we were pulled out of shape time again, and that great goalkeeping, excellent last tackle defending and clinical finishing were the reasons we prevailed were obvious.

There is no point ignoring the elephant(s) in the room as anyone who followed the match closely could see what had happened and it assists no-one.

Players shouldn't be the only ones to come under more scrutiny, managers will also need to be made more accountable. Unlike men's football, long tenures in women's football are the norm rather than the exception.

The coach of the Spanish Women's National Team Ignacio Quereda has been at the helm for 25 years, England's Hope Powell for 15 years, Germany's Silvia Neid for eight years and even France's Bruno Bini for six years.  But never before have managers come under the spotlight as they have now.

This is good for the game.  For game's national teams to have educated, exceptional coaches who are accountable for their teams performances.  In fact it's vital for development.

Yes, the armchair critics (and those who have not bothered to watch 5 minutes of the game) will come out but there are now some astute voices talking about women's football and ultimately the aim is for the improvement and development of the women's game.

It's going to be a hard switch for many involved in the game to make but I believe it is a necessary one.