Camacho advises charges to be patient

SPANISH coach Jose Antonio Camacho has warned his side there is no room for error tomorrow in the World Cup round of 16.

“We can’t afford to give away anything at all against Ireland,” Camacho said after leading his squad in a 90-minute training session at their Ulsan base.

“We haven’t made such a good start at the World Cup for 52 years. It’s been great but another tournament starts now. Camacho believes patience will be the key against an Irish side that will do everything they can to put the Spaniards off their stride.

“We have to play our own game and make sure we keep the ball,” the coach said.

Camacho made eight changes to his starting line-up for the South Africa game. The competition for places is fierce but the coach said he had no real selection dilemma.

“I’m not so bothered about which players play,” Camacho said. “The important thing is how the ones who are in the team perform. “Anyone in this squad could play against Ireland. Some have played better than others so far but they’re all working hard and I’m happy with that.

“I do have the team in mind but it’s my habit to announce it on the day of the game.”

Camacho described Mick Mc-Carthy’s side as one of the best teams around.

“Ireland are unbeaten against teams like Cameroon and Germany here and the Netherlands and Portugal in qualifying,” Camacho said.

“They can play at home and away and they know exactly what they’re doing. Maybe it’s a bit early to say but we’re talking about one of the best teams there are at the moment.

“The players they have up front aren’t there to chase long balls, although the big forward (Niall) Quinn could come on at the end if needed,” the Spanish coach said.

“Their style normally is to play the ball around. They get into position and play as a block, with six or seven players attacking and eight or nine defending. They have a lot of physical strength and they can all attack and defend.”

Striker Diego Tristan has recovered from ankle and groin injuries but remains doubtful for the second round clash.

“As far as we’re concerned Tristan is no longer on the injured list after training today,” doctor Genaro Borras said.

“He will need a few days before he’s back in match rhythm, though.”