It’s time for new heroes to stand up for Boys in Green

Last June one year, a Scottish team replete with journeymen pros without a win in any of the six competitive games they had played up until then in their World Cup qualifying campaign, travelled to Zagreb and came away with a 1-0 win against the world’s then fourth-highest ranked side.

Complete the context and it makes the result all the more extraordinary. Croatia had won five of their previous six games and drawn away to the fancied Belgians. Then came Scotland with players drawn from the Hull Citys and Wigan Athletics of this world and they went and snatched a win, thanks to Norwich City’s Robert Snodgrass strike.

It’s a result that sprang to mind yesterday with the announcement by Martin O’Neill of a similarly modest squad for the approaching friendly against Oman and, more pointedly, the opening qualifying fixture for Euro 2016 against Georgia in Tbilisi. In fact, it all made the task facing the Republic of Ireland manager very real indeed.