O'Neill positive ahead of Austria Aviva clash

It isn’t quite the case of tearing into Austria from the off in the Aviva this evening but Martin O’Neill is looking for his men to start the match strongly and not simply ease into the game as they have done so in recent competitive games.

He is seeking a positive frame of mind right from the start of the match and build on the results that have earned the team 11 points from a possible 15 in the campaign to date. They sit level with Serbia on top of the table, four points clear of both Austria and Wales (who travel to Belgrade this evening).

Speaking at Saturday’s pre-match press conference Martin O’Neill said: “We want to be very positive. I don’t think we would have these points on the board without being positive. Let’s not just fall into our shell.

“Against Uruguay (in last Sunday’s 3-1 friendly win) I thought we mixed it up and we passed it really well. We scored some really great goals. That is our intention. A win for Austria puts them right back in the competition but a win for us gives us some kind of breathing space.”

Five of Ireland’s seven goals in qualifying so far have come in the second half including the winner in Austria from James McClean last November.

Speaking about the Austrian 4-2-3-1 formation in Vienna, O’Neill said “I thought the system they employed saw them start off the game very brightly. They had us on the back foot for the first 15 to 20 minutes of the game. They were very lively.

“The game settled down and we had Harry Arter at that time essentially making his competitive debut. He started to come into the game a little more and we started to find our feet. It was never a comfortable win for us. It was great to win away from home in Vienna. Austria pressed us the whole way."

With a depleted squad, Austria may move go a three-at-the-back system with Bayern Munich star David Alba deployed in midfield for the visitors if you read into manager Marcel Koller’s comments on Saturday (“It is important for David to play in a position where he can support his team-mates and be effective in the game.”)

For O’Neill he was focussed on having his players “ready to impose our own will on the game and be aware of whatever players they play. Sometimes Alba plays wide and sometimes in the middle.

“We just have to adapt. He is a very very talented player and plays for a big big club. He is one of at least four players who are capable of turning the game.”

Ireland are of course missing their captain Seamus Coleman who was the match winner in the second half against Georgia earlier in the campaign in a game that the Boys in Green grew into.

“Against Georgia our idea was to get out and impose ourselves on them. It didn’t go that way. For 10 to 20 minutes we weren’t properly tuned in and we could have suffered the consequences but we were stronger in the second half.

"We have tended to be stronger then. It will be up to us to start as strongly as we possibly can and that is what we intend to do.”

The match is must win for Austria but for Ireland all three points, like the victory in Vienna, would send out a huge marker and give the team valuable momentum when September’s internationals away to Georgia and home to Serbia come around.

With Russia 2018 the prize, O’Neill is hoping his team can take some inspiration from their late win in the Euro 2016 group game in Lille against Italy.

“That night the result was of great significance to us but it was one that we knew we couldn’t rely on anything else. We had to go and win the game. Sometimes when your mindset is like that it focuses you and it stops you from thinking negatively.”

For our full match preview, see here.

O'Neill looking to Warrior Walters in Austria battle https://t.co/3BNaslPfwapic.twitter.com/ogSGrwjBsU

— Extratime.ie (@ExtratimeNews) June 10, 2017