McCarthy on a knife-edge

THE FAI will have to address the issues raised by Mick McCarthy in his post-match press conference at Lansdowne Road when he made statements suggesting the day of his departure may be fast approaching.

McCarthy, the longest serving national team manager in Europe after more than six years in the job, is contracted to the FAI until February 2004. And although he stated he intended to see his contract through, some of the ideas he floated suggested he might be about to review his situation.

The most radical statement he made was that the controversy surrounding his position was impacting upon the dressing-room and on the performances of the players. He said: “I feel a bit sorry for the players actually because I think my current situation has affected team spirit and morale.”

McCarthy appears, to an increasing extent, to be adopting the attitude of a man seriously thinking of his future. There were indications of that last week when one of his advisors suggested he was prepared to sign for Sunderland if offered the job and another that he was prepared to listen to offers.

The FAI dismissed suggestions that there was any pressure on the manager from that direction and you would be justified in asking why should there be. McCarthy’s record in his six years stands up to any examination.

The general manager of the FAI, Brendan Menton, publicly supported him yet again when he said the FAI hoped to extend his contract beyond 2004. He was merely echoing a desire first expressed during the World Cup.

McCarthy again affirmed his own positive attitude to being manager of Ireland immediately after the defeat by Switzerland. He was asked whether Ireland’s situation might not be improved if he walked.

He said: “I’m not going to walk away from anything. If somebody wants to make that decision then fine. But I’m not.”

Nobody can question McCarthy’s commitment to the Irish cause. I recall writing on the day he made his debut as a player against Poland in 1984 that Ireland had discovered the best defensive header of the ball since Charlie Hurley.

McCarthy was a player who never failed to give of his best and his approach to the job of management was just as intense, just as thorough and just as professional. To hear people boo him at Lansdowne Road after Ireland had lost to Switzerland was a disgrace.

There’s no question, however, but that the endless critical examination of McCarthy’s every move has had a cumulative effect. It has been obvious for sometime that a group of sports reporters has taken a very obvious stance aimed at undermining his position and it has made an impact.

Asked whether the booing had upset him he said: “That’s been driven anyway from certain quarters. It was always going to happen if we got the wrong result.”

Perhaps he did expect it but is there not a suspicion McCarthy was attempting to put a brave face on what must have been a hugely disappointing development?

McCarthy got the team to the final 16 of the World Cup by mixing-and-matching the squad. It meant using players in unfamiliar roles as the occasion demanded - Damien Duff at centre-forward and then again at outside-right; Gary Kelly at left-back; Robbie Keane in midfield; Kevin Kilbane at left-back.

A step-up in standard is involved for every player moving from club football to international level and it is sensible to facilitate the effective transition of each individual by playing him in his best position, his most natural position, and in a role that he is familiar with.

For that reason McCarthy would have been well advised to move on from the improvisation of the World Cup and to start using players in their best positions - Duff at outside left as the most obvious example.

And if, for example, it is suggested that a player such as Ian Harte needs the protection that Kilbane offers, it is possible that a better way would be to look for a better left-back.

But that is by the way. The fact is that McCarthy has done well in his six years and the results produced by the squad testified to his ability to develop a team spirit and an esprit de corps that ensured the whole was greater than the sum of the parts.

Now, according to the man himself, that has changed. By his own admission that intangible bond that linked everybody so they drew strength from one another and presented a powerful, united front to the world that was best expressed in their unquenchable spirit may have been damaged.

It is now an issue for the FAI. Anything that may hurt the team must be addressed firmly and honestly. McCarthy, a man whose formidable reputation has been built on his courage and his honesty, knows that.