Labouring Ireland must skip banana skin

We’ve been far too tentative at the start of a number of games in the campaign so far, and unforgivably sloppy too at times. That has to be avoided in Tbilisi, writes Liam Brady.

Joint top of the table on points with Serbia; before a ball was kicked in World Cup qualifying Group D, we would all have been delighted to think that Ireland would be in this position with four games to play.

Yet, there is already an odd, nagging feeling of ‘what might have been’ for Martin O’Neill’s team going into today’s match in Tbilisi against Georgia. Having racked up three wins and a draw in the first four games, three of which were away from home, Ireland have somewhat squandered that hard-earned advantage in the two home games we played this year, drawing 0-0 with Wales and 1-1 with Austria.