King pragmatic in face of German confidence

If Sami Khedira came across as overly confident in Germany's pre-match briefing when he said the hosts can be 'self-assured' while harbouring hopes of scoring 'many' goals, then Ireland's interim manager Noel King painted a far more pragmatic picture.


While not quite the ushering in of a new era, more a two-game stop gap before the FAI can appoint a permanent manager, King has made a couple of noticeable changes since temporarily stepping into the seat vacated by Giovanni Trapattoni last month ahead of the dead rubber at the Rheine Energie Stadion. 


Gone, of course, are the elaborate (maybe that should read incomprehensible) metaphors and, more often than not accidental, moments of comedy, replaced by a more sedate approach. Certainly a King press conference is not quite as fun as a Trap event but it would be hard to deny King his moment on the big stage, all the same.


Whereas Trapattoni insisted on naming his team the day before games, King has, like most international managers, refused to announce his starting XI. To complicate the guessing game further, Robbie Keane did not take part in the team’s final training session due to an ankle injury which has troubled him since Tuesday. He was also absent from the pre-match chat.


"He has a bit of an ankle problem and he is not training tonight (Thursday),” King said. “We will make a decision in the morning but he still has a chance of playing. It's best to leave him off and see how it goes tomorrow. We will decide in the morning and if he is fit he will start.”


He was tight-lipped, too, on the formation he is likely to employ in an attempt to keep Germany at bay, even though it would be a shock if Ireland did not line out with five in midfield and a lone frontman. "I'm not getting stuck into that,” King said, although he did admit that "Robbie's inavailability won't impact on the formation.”


Educated guessing would suggest Darron Gibson will start in central midfield with the Celtic striker Anthony Stokes, who is the only player in this Ireland squad belonging to a club in the Champions League, most likely to replace Keane if the LA Galaxy man is not passed fit. James McCarthy and Glenn Whelan will probably line up in the middle with Gibson.


That Damien Delaney accompanied King instead of Keane makes it almost certain that he will start at centre-half for a competitive debut at the age of 32. "It's been a long road for me personally. I'll give it my all,” the Corkman, now at Crystal Palace, said. "They are a top side. It's going to be a difficult evening. But upsets have happened before, it's a possibility. It would be a big one but if we stick to our game-plan, who knows what could happen. We accept they are a very good side but we are not a bad side either."


Ciaran Clark should partner Delaney in the middle of defence with the first choice pairing of John O’Shea and Richard Dunne out through suspension, but whoever it is, Delaney promised to “have a smile on my face and enjoy it.”


That smile was raised when a local journalist asked King what he thought of Germany’s chances in Brazil next summer. His response? “Well I always back them,” before adding after a pause and some nervous laughter from the room, “but not tomorrow!”


Germany, meanwhile, are exuding confidence. They still require a point to secure a qualification that has looked, to borrow a phrase from Khedira, assured since the Aviva drubbing 13 months ago. And despite the Real Madrid player’s brash comments, nobody could argue the gulf between both teams. 


There could be claims that every member of Germany's bench tomorrow night would walk straight into this current Irish team and iIf the difference between Ireland and their apparent competitors for second, Sweden and Austria, was one world class player apiece in Zlatan Ibrahimovic and David Alaba, then a comparison between the respective squads tomorrow night seems to indicate a similar result could be in the pipeline.


Much of the pre-match talk surrounded Mesut Ozil, who will make his 50th appearance for the national side, and his move to Arsenal dominated rather than the game itself. But after declaring his love for his new club, London and Arsene Wenger, he did add “as far as tomorrow’s match, we want to give everything to qualify here in Germany and I think we’re very well prepared.”


Khedira, however did not quite tow the typical fighting Irish line and perhaps even veered towards disrespect when he said:  “I think we can be self-assured enough that it will be down to us. We want to score many goals but they will have many tricks and needles to upset us and maybe even score.”