Martin O'Neill - We kept a clean sheet which is important, it's a re-building process

Sam McKeever reports from the Aviva Stadium

Republic of Ireland manager Martin O’Neill has defended his team selection for the scorless draw against Denmark on Saturday night.

He claimed his tactics - playing a defensive back three along with wingbacks, were set up to help Matt Doherty into the side for his competitive debut. 

O’Neill has not decided to use the Wolves defender in recent internationals even though the former Bohemians player has been in steller form for Wolves in the Premier League this season.

“We were accommodating Doherty as much as anything else,” said O’Neill speaking after the game. “We were trying to make it as easy for him as possible. He has played in a number of positions for Wolves and in debut in front of his home crowd competitively we wanted to try and make it as easy for him as possible.”

The manager was also full of praise for Fulham defender Cyrus Christie who played a central midfield role against the Danes.

“Cyrus Christie has played on the right side of midfield for us and has done exceptionally well. He is athletic, he is fit and I felt he did terrifically”

O’Neill seemed at bit more defensive which probably was down to the two heavy defeats his side have suffered against Wales and Denmark but the manager claimed he set his side up to get all three points and that the team are re-building after those recent losses. 

“I thought in periods of possession, we looked to do something with it. They made a sub at the end, a defender for a forward which may have told you something.

“Our intent was to create more than we did. We allowed them to dictate the game early on and we were chasing it although they didn’t create too many chances. But then we kept the ball and started playing a bit.”



 “We’re re-building again after the defeat against Wales. We kept a clean sheet which is important it’s a re-building process.”

Ireland’s next game is against Ryan Giggs’s Wales side on Tuesday in the Aviva in another UEFA Nations League clash and O’Neill thinks his side are fully prepared for the task ahead.

“I think they’re ready for Wales. We have to see how they will come out for this game. A lot of the players don’t play for their respective clubs and we didn’t think Shane Long lasted longer than we expected.”

 

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