Stan expecting rocky ride
So yesterday was the last chance that new manager Steve Staunton had to speculate on all the possible permutations.
Having just checked into his hotel on the shores of Lake Geneva, the company he’d found himself sharing on the journey in from the airport had pushed one striking possibility to the forefront of his mind.
“I was on the coach with Sven, Lawrie Sanchez and John Toshack,” Staunton smiled, “and we could get all three in the draw. So although it’s handshakes and all that today...”
Joking aside, Staunton insisted that he has no preferences or hang-ups about who he gets, but with Ireland going in as fourth seeds it’s pretty clear that the road to Austria and Switzerland will be suitably Alpine.
Still, the new manager was inclined to accentuate the positive.
“I’ve been looking at the rankings and there’s plenty in Pot Three who are below us,” he pointed out. “I don’t think too many in one, two or three will want us as fourth seeds. I’d like to think the big guns would still consider us an awkward bunch to play against.
“But we’re not silly about the whole thing. We know it’s going to be difficult but I honestly believe we’re better than fourth seeds. We still have a nucleus of players that played in 2002. I understand that it’s going to be a bit of a transitional period but if that gels quicker, then the better for all of us. If it doesn’t, we might have to wait a little bit longer. That’s something you can never foresee with youth coming through. You don’t know when it’s all going to click in. That’s why I’ve been given a four year deal. We will be trying our socks off for the Euros, but we will be gearing for 2010 with a more settled side.”
With the winners and runners-up from each of the seven groups to qualify for the finals, where they will join joint hosts Austria and Switzerland, it means that there will be no play-off games at the end of this campaign. And that’s something which definitely pleases Staunton.
“Play-offs have hampered us in the past,” he said. “At least, now if we come second we qualify. I think it’s better. The players now have enough high pressure games. They don’t need the play-offs at the end of a long campaign, along with their own club commitments.”
Six of the groups will contain seven teams but one, Group A will, accommodate eight. If either Ireland or Holland end up in that group - or are paired in another - that will mean the August friendly between the two countries will be postponed, since that date would then be given over to a competitive fixture. However, the Sweden friendly on March 1 will go ahead irrespective of the outcome of today’s proceedings.
On Wednesday, UEFA decided that fixtures within the Euro 2008 groups will have to be agreed within a 30 day period rather than the 90 days which prevailed in the past, meaning that the FAI delegation will need to get down to some hard bargaining the moment today’s draw is completed. Acknowledging that being fourth seeds would make John Delaney’s task more difficult, Staunton drew laughter when he turned to the FAI chief executive who was seated beside him and quipped, “Well, we’ll see how good he really is.”
While Staunton said that he would ideally like if Ireland could have a friendly at Croke Park before playing a competitive fixture there, Delaney pointed out that there was no provision for such a game. However, both were hopeful that the soccer players could at least have some training sessions at the ground in advance of their debut at GAA headquarters in 2007.
Staunton is due to visit the venue soon to ascertain how best a soccer pitch can be accommodated there.
According to Delaney, there has been “an inquiry” from the US about hosting Irish games in the summer and he also revealed that requests for friendlies have come in from a couple of World Cup qualifiers. No firm decision has been made on any of these but it appears likely that two friendlies will be played in May.
Meanwhile, the Dave Kitson saga took an unexpected twist yesterday when the Reading striker did an apparent u-turn on the subject of playing for Ireland. Having previously stated categorically that he wouldn’t make himself available under the “granny rule” as a matter of principle. He has now been reported as expressing an interest in playing for Ireland.
Asked if he had spoken to the player, Staunton carefully replied: “There’s been contact made” before adding that the new quotes attributed to Kitson were something he would look into. He also said that there had been a positive response to his call to international arms and once again defended the controversial ruling, insisting that if players were eligible and wanted to play for Ireland, then he would welcome them.
Before today’s senior draw, Ireland’s U-21s will learn the identity of their opponents in the preliminary qualifying game for their revamped European Championship competition, but the main business of the day will begin at 11am Irish time, when the 50 names move from the pots to the groups, in the Montreux Convention Centre.
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