Kerr stays cool as Duff concern grows
The winger, who sustained what manager Brian Kerr described as a "slight twist" in his right knee during training with Chelsea last week, hasn't yet been able to take full part in training with the Irish squad.
Said Kerr after yesterday's session in Malahide: "Damien did a little bit of jogging and running and keep ball, that was all. He's a big concern in that it's a genuine injury he picked up as late as Thursday. But there was a bit of hope about this morning and I think in his own head he is very positive."
Matt Holland (ribs) and Kevin Kilbane (virus) also did some running yesterday but, as Kerr put it, "didn't take part in the real action." However, he said that the Everton player felt much improved, and Kerr confirmed that Andy O'Brien, who had spent most of the week sick, had taken part in his first full training session.
Kerr and coach Chris Hughton had returned to the Irish camp after a flying visit to Lens to see France beat the Faroe Islands 3-0 on Saturday night.
"There wasn't anything that surprised either Chris or myself about France," he said. "To be honest, going to the match my thoughts were that six goals or less wouldn't be too bad. And when they got the two early goals I thought they might go on to win very easily, but the Faroes hung in until a quarter of an hour to go before they conceded the third goal.
"I thought the night was going to be about France trying to get as many goals as possible and putting on a bit of a show for their supporters. And emphasising how right it was to go this road with the returning players, and to try to continue that momentum. But I think they may have stalled a little bit. I didn't think that, in the second half, it was all singing and dancing and joy unconfined."
Kerr admitted that the return of Zinedine Zidane, as well as Claude Makelele and Lilian Thuram, had given him food for thought as he plots Ireland's approach for Wednesday.
"I can't say that it doesn't affect how we plan for a game when someone like Zidane comes into the team," he said "France have rebuilt the team around his style in the last couple of games. We have to take that into account, we can't be unconcerned about what they have. They've got brilliant players; some of their fellas would be in the top five when world players of the year are mentioned. I even voted for some of them myself like Zidane and Henry. But we've got to do our thing and play our own game our way and play it to the absolute best we possibly can. And only that will be good enough."
Kerr welcomed the 1-1 result between Switzerland and Israel. "The only better result for ourselves or France would have been a no-score draw. But, again, someone has to break the sequence of draws. It can't continue. We've all drawn with Israel home and away. It's what we do against each other now that counts."
Responding to reports that Claude Makelele and French exile Robert Pires had both labelled Ireland as a long ball, aerial team, Kerr quipped that neither must get out very much, and argued that such perceptions of Irish football have been out of date since the Mick McCarthy era.
But there did seem to be a ceasefire in his war of words with Raymond Domenech, when Kerr was given the gist of the French manager's latest clarification of earlier comments he'd made about the Irish style.
Speaking at France's base yesterday, Domenech said: "Ireland can play a traditional type of football if they want to, as they showed against Israel (in Dublin). It is an option that is open to them. But that is not their only, or even their usual, style of play. Anyone who saw the game in the Stade de France, and their other games, could see that they are also able to play football. They can work the ball from defence and pass it around and attack with speed when they want to.
"We can only play in one style, one way. We could not start playing long balls if things were not going well. It's not in our make-up and not something we have ever done. It is inconceivable that Zidane could play in a team playing in this direct style. But maybe that is an advantage that Ireland have over us."
Kerr's response? "That's fair enough, yeah."
So it's peace in our time?
Grinning, Kerr replied: "There'll be shaking hands and laughing before the match. No need for Boutros Boutros-Ghali to arrive on the spot."
However, he was not laughing about a Sunday newspaper's attempts to whip up scandal where none exists by running a front page splash about some of the players having a night on the town in Dublin last Friday.
Dismissing the coverage as "ridiculous", Kerr explained: "After training on Friday we went for a meal together the staff and the team in a lovely restaurant in Malahide. As far as I was concerned, the players had a free evening and the option of going out if they wanted to, or otherwise. There was no curfew. It was a Friday night and if the game was a Saturday game it would be the equivalent of them going on a Monday night.
"I had absolutely no problem whatsoever with the players who chose to go out. They've trained really hard in the three training sessions we've had so far and they'll continue for the next three. They're a very disciplined squad. The train hard, they play hard - and I've no problems with their morale, or their professionalism, or their desire to do well in matches. And that's what counts."
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