A dressing room with a view
After the long build-up, the matches can’t come quick enough now. The day before and the day of the game are the longest days. By that stage you’re just itching to be out on the pitch.
Next Saturday night I’ll be thinking a lot about Croatia and the various permutations it might throw up. But it’s also important that you can switch off and not over-think things or you’ll end up doing your head in. Fortunately, over the years, I’ve developed the knack of being able to sleep well on the night before a game, so that I’m always sure of waking refreshed and ready to go in the morning.
Before we leave the hotel for the stadium we’ll have a squad meeting and that’s when the manager gives us a recap about the opposition and all the other points he’s been making to ensure that it’s fresh in our minds. By the time we’re on the bus, I’m fully focused on what lies ahead. As we drive along, the music starts up and it’s always a mix of traditional and modern Irish songs, ensuring the spirit is good as we pull into the ground.
Once we’re in the dressing room, the players do their own individual things. I’ll tend to get a massage, do some stretching and then three or four of us will play a little two-touch. Then we’ll get the shout to go out for the warm-up.
I’m not superstitious and I’m not one who feels I have to do certain things in a certain order. Apart from always having that massage, that’s about it.
In the dressing room, the lads will talk about the game among ourselves and then, shortly before we go out, Marco Tardelli will go around and speak to people individually about issues the management might be concerned about, things they want us to do. Then, once we’re out on the pitch and just before kick-off, it’s mainly Shay and Robbie who do the talking in the huddle, rallying the troops. But, we’ll hardly need motivating.
A big source of confidence for me is the spirit and sense of togetherness in our squad. It’s not always just about the ability in the player. You need characters too.
Realistically, not all of the 23 are going to play in the tournament, so you need people around the place who are going to be good-humoured and help break the mood up a little bit. That’s a big part of what we are as a team and a squad.
Just by way of contrast, look at the amount of players in the England set-up who retire in their late 20s/early 30s when they could clearly have played on internationally for many more years.
Speak to anyone within the game in England and you get the sense that there are some English players who just don’t relish playing for their country. There doesn’t seem to be the same sense of patriotism that we have when we meet up.
We love getting together and we genuinely enjoy each other’s company. The manager has recognised the kind of personalities we are, and also the character of the country: we do like a laugh and a joke but when business is business, we crack down. So he doesn’t rule with an iron rod. He let’s us have our freedom to a certain degree whereas, at times, the England camp seems to have been run more like a prison camp. And in this age, you can’t treat grown men like that; you have to give them a certain amount of trust.
It’s a shame that England haven’t gone on to bigger and better things because we play against those players week in and week out and we see how good they are individually and with their clubs. But when it comes to the national team, and especially at the big tournaments, it hasn’t seemed to work. I hope things go better for them this time under my former West Brom boss Roy Hodgson — and, who knows, we might even end up meeting each other in the Ukraine.
But, first, we’re facing top quality opposition in our own group and I understand that, as much as people hope we will progress, there are others who fear it could all end in anti-climax. As players we can’t be entertaining gloomy thoughts though. No matter what the result in the first game against Croatia, I’ve learned from experience as a professional footballer that you can’t afford to let yourself get too up or too down. Despite the significance of that first match, it’s important to remember that nothing will be decided in that one game.
Some people have argued that, given the nature of the games coming afterwards, the Croatia match is a must-win for both sides but, personally, I don’t think playing them will be any easier than playing Italy. The Croatians have some really gifted individuals and I regard them as a fine side. For that reason, a draw wouldn’t be the worst result in the world. But, of course, we won’t be setting out for that because it would be brilliant if we could open with a win.
