Doyle considers captaincy 'an honour'
Credit:
Giovanni Trapattoni strolled into the press room in Thomond Park over an hour late this evening but there was a certain air about the Italian as he spoke to the waiting media. His hand gestures alone were worth the wait, as the Italian was joined by interim captain Kevin Doyle. “You jinx me as somebody gets hurt after you ask this question,” Trap quipped before announcing his probable starting eleven for tomorrow night’s tie.
The mood in the camp is clearly a confident one after Saturday night’s 2-1 win but the Irish will still be keen to give a better showing than last month’s debacle against Australia. After being hammered 3-0 by the preposterously named ‘Qantas Socceroos’, the players were eager to describe it as a pre-season run out afterwards. There will be no excuses tomorrow night however, as the mid-west truly expects a better showing at the home of Munster Rugby.
Trap confirmed at St Michael’s FC in Tipperary last night that he had lost the experienced quartet of Shay Given, Richard Dunne, Kevin Kilbane and Robbie Keane but there was another blow when John O’Shea returned to Manchester this morning for a scan on his calf. However, Trap isn’t overly concerned and expects O’Shea to be fit for the crucial meeting of Italy on October 10th. “I told him to be careful but in Manchester he will be treated well by a good club and their doctors. Tomorrow he can’t play because there is blood on his calf but there is no tear.” Aiden McGeady has also returned home as a precaution but Paddy McCarthy has been drafted in, leaving the Irish with a squad of 19.
Having also lost Stephen Hunt to what was described as ‘personal reasons’, it now means that the Irish starting eleven will be weakened, though there will be no debutants. Kieren Westwood is expected to start between the posts, with a back four including Preston North End’s Eddie Nolan. Stoke City’s Liam Lawrence is also set to be given a starting place in midfield. Caleb Folan was introduced for the final 15 minutes and the Hull City striker is likely to partner captain Doyle up front, against the team ranked 73rd in the world.
“These players have been with us a lot and maybe only Nolan is the only inexperienced one. Lawrence and Keogh have been with us all many times,” Trapattoni said. Aiden McGeady picked up a knock yesterday and he is gone home but Paddy McCarthy has come in from Crystal Palace.”
Doyle, meanwhile, was keen to state that his berth as captain of the national team will not change his role on the pitch. “Once the match starts, there is nothing you can do. I’ll do what I always do and get on with the game. I’ll try to do things right and lead by example.
“It’s an absolute honour,” the Wexford man added. “It’ll be my first time and I realise it’s only due to the lads returning to their clubs to prepare for the weekend. It never entered by head but when you realise all the lads have pulled out and I’ve been in the squad three or four years now but I’m still one of the older lads here now.”
His only previous experience of leading a team was during a poor run for Reading in the Championship last year, where the team won just once in the space of a month. “I captained Reading for a month last year when one of the other lads got injured but then I got injured myself. It was an experience at the time because we were struggling and it was good to be given the captaincy. We were under pressure at the time but I did get one win out my system and we weren’t beaten too many times either.” Doyle, admittedly, is not one of the first voices to be heard in the dressing room before a game, though. “I’m not usually one to give speeches. We usually do a little circle before games and I’ll say what I think is appropriate at the time.”
South Africa come to Limerick having lost to Germany 2-0 in Leverkusen on Saturday night and Joel Santana believes the game will be far from easy. Speaking earlier today, the Bafana Bafana boss said: “Ireland is one team that is not easy to play against especially at home. They have one philosophy which we South Africans are not comfortable with – they play long ball, they play pressure football, they are strong and make you very uncomfortable.”
Aaron Mokoena will captain the side, and he also believes that the Irish will be ‘very aggressive’. Qualifying automatically as hosts for next years World Cup also means that these friendlies are very important for the South African’s and the Portsmouth player is treating games like tomorrow night as a strict learning curve. “For us we need to play as much as we can, it's about getting the experience,” he added.
Ireland (probable): Westwood, Kelly, McShane, St Ledger, Nolan, Lawrence, Gibson, Andrews, Keogh, Folan and Doyle (capt.)
The mood in the camp is clearly a confident one after Saturday night’s 2-1 win but the Irish will still be keen to give a better showing than last month’s debacle against Australia. After being hammered 3-0 by the preposterously named ‘Qantas Socceroos’, the players were eager to describe it as a pre-season run out afterwards. There will be no excuses tomorrow night however, as the mid-west truly expects a better showing at the home of Munster Rugby.
Trap confirmed at St Michael’s FC in Tipperary last night that he had lost the experienced quartet of Shay Given, Richard Dunne, Kevin Kilbane and Robbie Keane but there was another blow when John O’Shea returned to Manchester this morning for a scan on his calf. However, Trap isn’t overly concerned and expects O’Shea to be fit for the crucial meeting of Italy on October 10th. “I told him to be careful but in Manchester he will be treated well by a good club and their doctors. Tomorrow he can’t play because there is blood on his calf but there is no tear.” Aiden McGeady has also returned home as a precaution but Paddy McCarthy has been drafted in, leaving the Irish with a squad of 19.
Having also lost Stephen Hunt to what was described as ‘personal reasons’, it now means that the Irish starting eleven will be weakened, though there will be no debutants. Kieren Westwood is expected to start between the posts, with a back four including Preston North End’s Eddie Nolan. Stoke City’s Liam Lawrence is also set to be given a starting place in midfield. Caleb Folan was introduced for the final 15 minutes and the Hull City striker is likely to partner captain Doyle up front, against the team ranked 73rd in the world.
“These players have been with us a lot and maybe only Nolan is the only inexperienced one. Lawrence and Keogh have been with us all many times,” Trapattoni said. Aiden McGeady picked up a knock yesterday and he is gone home but Paddy McCarthy has come in from Crystal Palace.”
Doyle, meanwhile, was keen to state that his berth as captain of the national team will not change his role on the pitch. “Once the match starts, there is nothing you can do. I’ll do what I always do and get on with the game. I’ll try to do things right and lead by example.
“It’s an absolute honour,” the Wexford man added. “It’ll be my first time and I realise it’s only due to the lads returning to their clubs to prepare for the weekend. It never entered by head but when you realise all the lads have pulled out and I’ve been in the squad three or four years now but I’m still one of the older lads here now.”
His only previous experience of leading a team was during a poor run for Reading in the Championship last year, where the team won just once in the space of a month. “I captained Reading for a month last year when one of the other lads got injured but then I got injured myself. It was an experience at the time because we were struggling and it was good to be given the captaincy. We were under pressure at the time but I did get one win out my system and we weren’t beaten too many times either.” Doyle, admittedly, is not one of the first voices to be heard in the dressing room before a game, though. “I’m not usually one to give speeches. We usually do a little circle before games and I’ll say what I think is appropriate at the time.”
South Africa come to Limerick having lost to Germany 2-0 in Leverkusen on Saturday night and Joel Santana believes the game will be far from easy. Speaking earlier today, the Bafana Bafana boss said: “Ireland is one team that is not easy to play against especially at home. They have one philosophy which we South Africans are not comfortable with – they play long ball, they play pressure football, they are strong and make you very uncomfortable.”
Aaron Mokoena will captain the side, and he also believes that the Irish will be ‘very aggressive’. Qualifying automatically as hosts for next years World Cup also means that these friendlies are very important for the South African’s and the Portsmouth player is treating games like tomorrow night as a strict learning curve. “For us we need to play as much as we can, it's about getting the experience,” he added.
Ireland (probable): Westwood, Kelly, McShane, St Ledger, Nolan, Lawrence, Gibson, Andrews, Keogh, Folan and Doyle (capt.)
About Alan Smith
Alan Smith works as a sub-editor for the Guardian newspaper in London. Originally from Cork, he freelances for several other newspapers and websites. Follow him on twitter @alansmith90. View Full Profile