Levein feels vindicated by Scottish win
Credit:
Scotland's players have proven that they can perform on the international stage, said manager Craig Levein after his side won 3-0 tonight in the Aviva stadium against Northern Ireland.
"We played very well" said Levein. "I've been talking constantly about watching the players in their clubs playing at a very high standard, and how much improvement there's been in the players over the last year or so. It's one thing me talking about it, but it's another for the players to go onto the pitch and prove that I'm not talking a load of rubbish."
Levein was pleased with what he saw in Scotland's Carling Four Nations Cup opener, but praised the performances of two debutants in particular. "Mark Wilson was good when he came on. Robert Snodgrass looks like a player who we can turn to in the future. It's about building a squad but also about maintaining a team mentality."
Another player who Levein singled out was James MacArthur- who replaced Scott Brown in the starting XI at short notice. "His [Brown's] groin was a bit tight- we knew that this morning but we decided to wait until pre-match to see if he was capable of playing. He's an important player for Celtic and I didn't want to put him in a position where he'd be injured. I tried to rest as many players this evening as I could."
Much rumour has surrounded the international future of James McCarthy, with Giovanni Trapattoni today saying that it is up to McCarthy whether he continues to be eligible for Ireland or switches his declaration to Scotland. But Levein would not be drawn into commenting on McCarthy, simply stating: "I don't want to speak about this."
The Scotland boss did comment on his side's tactical set-up. Scotland adopted a 4-5-1 formation, and swept Northern Ireland away with quick and expansive passing. Levein lavished praise on his hard-working midfield, saying that he thinks their tactical success "was down to the way we started, and the energy we had in the midfield area. We managed to turn a 50-50 game at the start into one that was 75-25 in our favour. We didn't let Northern Ireland play."
"I've watched them winning and controlling games" said Levein of his team. "The trick was to get them from doing that at their clubs to doing it at international level."
"We played very well" said Levein. "I've been talking constantly about watching the players in their clubs playing at a very high standard, and how much improvement there's been in the players over the last year or so. It's one thing me talking about it, but it's another for the players to go onto the pitch and prove that I'm not talking a load of rubbish."
Levein was pleased with what he saw in Scotland's Carling Four Nations Cup opener, but praised the performances of two debutants in particular. "Mark Wilson was good when he came on. Robert Snodgrass looks like a player who we can turn to in the future. It's about building a squad but also about maintaining a team mentality."
Another player who Levein singled out was James MacArthur- who replaced Scott Brown in the starting XI at short notice. "His [Brown's] groin was a bit tight- we knew that this morning but we decided to wait until pre-match to see if he was capable of playing. He's an important player for Celtic and I didn't want to put him in a position where he'd be injured. I tried to rest as many players this evening as I could."
Much rumour has surrounded the international future of James McCarthy, with Giovanni Trapattoni today saying that it is up to McCarthy whether he continues to be eligible for Ireland or switches his declaration to Scotland. But Levein would not be drawn into commenting on McCarthy, simply stating: "I don't want to speak about this."
The Scotland boss did comment on his side's tactical set-up. Scotland adopted a 4-5-1 formation, and swept Northern Ireland away with quick and expansive passing. Levein lavished praise on his hard-working midfield, saying that he thinks their tactical success "was down to the way we started, and the energy we had in the midfield area. We managed to turn a 50-50 game at the start into one that was 75-25 in our favour. We didn't let Northern Ireland play."
"I've watched them winning and controlling games" said Levein of his team. "The trick was to get them from doing that at their clubs to doing it at international level."
About Niall Farrell
Niall Farrell is our correspondent at Tolka Park, covering the goings-on at Shelbourne. You can visit Niall's website for further information and contact details- niallf.net. View Full Profile