Martin O'Neill dismisses critics but will hear what FAI have to say
In the aftermath of the scoreless draw with Denmark, and with the final game of a dispiriting 2018 now out of the way for his struggling Irish team, Martin O’Neill was asked what he would like to say to his critics, a growing number of whom are calling on the FAI to bring his reign to an end.
“I would have nothing to say,” he told a group of journalists. “You’re gathered around here, you’ve been critical of me now for, well, if I look at it, probably since the Scotland game when we drew with them in 2015. So it’s been continuous.”
To the suggestion that this was maybe a bit harsh, the manager responded: “No, it’s true. It is. I read the things. At the end of the day, it’s been pretty strong. But I’m in a business where criticism is part of the game. And it’s not just part of the game, it’s a very strong part of the game. And you have to deal with that.”
Then he turned to what he regards as the much more important part of his job as Ireland manager.
“This is the point. We’re trying to blood some young players, we’ve lost a couple of decent players in terms of character and strength, and we’re trying to get some other players in. We conceded four and five goals in two consecutive competitive games, although they were a bit of a distance apart, 10 or 11 months. So we’ve tried to rectify that. The goals we’ve conceded (since the 4-1 defeat in Cardiff) were a late goal against Poland and a very decent free-kick against Wales. So we’re trying to get that part right.
The other part is one that is definitely difficult to do because we need more creativity in the side. I thought we were strong defensively against Denmark. But obviously, if we’re going to create problems for the opposition, we’ve got to do more going forward. And that’s something that needs to be rectified.
“At least we’ve had some friendly games where we’ve tried to look at a few things. We’d not really played the back three and now suddenly we’ve played it a number of times. I don’t really have a major problem going into a back four but it’s plain to see we need more going forward.”
Questioned about the various contenders he has tried out to anchor the midfield, O’Neill observed: “Jeff (Hendrick) actually plays a different role for Burnley but I think he can be a sitting midfield player for us. Harry Arter has done it once or twice. Conor (Hourihane), just in the last couple of games for Aston Villa, has gone into that sort of position. You say we’re chopping and changing but we’re trying to find a formula for the upcoming European Championships.”
On the back of a fourth game in a row in which Ireland have failed to trouble the scoreboard, what O’Neill wants more than anything else, of course, is a reliable goal scorer, a thus far fruitless quest which has only been further complicated by a recurrence of Sean Maguire’s hamstring problems in the draw with Northern Ireland.
“Yes, it’s a problem for him,” the manager conceded. “Because that’s four times now in the last year. And you start to get worried about it. I think obviously he’s very positive, I think it’s only a matter of three or four weeks this time. That’s okay for us but it’s not for Preston to miss him for that time. But, more worryingly, it starts to get into your head and I think until you absolutely and utterly have cleared it up, then it becomes psychologically a bit of a problem. I know this from the past myself.”
Asked if, after reflecting on the disappointments of 2018, he thinks he will need to do some things differently next year, O’Neill said: “I think you’re genuinely always looking to see what you can improve on. I don’t want it just to be words here. I’ve always done this as a player, I’m the first one to look and see what we can do, see if there’s something we can actually change to make it better.
I accept all those things. At the end of the day, it’s my responsibility and whatever’s there, I will have a look at it and have a look at the matches to see what we can definitely improve on — certainly going forward — and try to rectify that.
Whether the FAI will continue back him in that ambition remains to be seen.
O’Neill said that he speaks regularly with chief executive John Delaney and that, if he didn’t get a chance to talk to him on the flight back from Aarhus, “then I’ll have a conversation with him the next day or the day after that or whenever it may be. And that’s always been case.”
And was he confident that his employers would have the same enthusiasm for him as he insists he has for continuing as Ireland manager?
“I always have enthusiasm for the job,” he said, “but I’ll speak with John and we’ll see.”
