McCarthy ready to be the Middle Man

Republic of Ireland midfielder James McCarthy is looking forward to learning from a fellow central midfielder, as the new Irish era begins in earnest.

The Everton midfielder has only begun working under Roy Keane, but has already picked up some advice on how the game should be played.

“You can see what a dominant midfielder he (Roy) was, hopefully I can pick as many tips up off him along the way. We’re two days in and already he’s given me a few – telling me to do this and do that, its brilliant to be learning from a footballing great.

“He wants you to get on the ball, make tackles, make passes. It’s a massive learning curve for myself to learn from such a footballing hero, hopefully long may it continue.”

A big Celtic fan as a boy, McCarthy has been an admirer of Martin O’Neill since his success with the Glasgow side in the mid-noughties.

“I remember the big nights, European nights, the Old Firm to be honest, they are good memories there. I’ve grown up being a fan and going to big games, it’s always a very good team he had.”

Despite his connection with the Scottish club, his first personal experience of O’Neill was this week.

“He’s been brilliant so far, so good. We’re really enjoying it, he’s brought a real buzz about the place and everyone is competing for places and you can see that.”

It’s a blink and you’ll miss it type of situation, with only nine days together as a squad and then nothing until they get together to play Serbia in March. It’s something which can get to the players as they desperately try to make an impact and impress the new duo.

“You only get nine days or something like that so obviously it’s frustrating, you want to get to know them a lot more, I think everyone’s in the same boat with International football – obviously two days in and two very good training sessions and we’re really enjoying it. It’s obviously another few months before we meet up again, but it’s all going well and a really good buzz ahead of Friday’s games.”

But 48 hours into the new era and no sign of the infamous Roy Keane temperament just yet.

“I think sometimes it gets blown out of proportion to be honest, I’ve been working under him for two days now, and he’s been brilliant. Anything I can pick up from him I’d be delighted.”

There was a lot made of the restrictions put on the team under the last management, but McCarthy is confident those creative players in the squad can shine in the new set-up. 

“You want to get on the ball and pass the ball , obviously we’ve got a lot of flair players in the squad, we’ve got the likes of Robbie , Aiden, Anthony  and Andy Reid. We’ve got a lot of quality, if we can get the players on the ball and to do their business then it’s going to be good for us in the future.”

McCarthy will get a chance to express himself on Friday against Latvia and again on Tuesday when they return to the Poznan to play Poland. Leaving there last year was one of the national teams lowest moments, maybe it’s the best place to start on the long road again.