Cunningham: where is all the negativity coming from?
Cunningham also conceded that the Republic of Ireland squad have succeeded in putting the Roy Keane saga behind them and were now determined to look forward, not back. "While the issue is being put in print in the newspapers then it's not going to go away but, in all honesty, I cannot say it has been the main topic of conversation within the squad," he said last night.
"Everybody has had their say in relation to the events of the World Cup. We are at the stage where everybody is feeling a little exhausted by the whole thing we have said what has to be said and that's pretty much it.
"We have so many important games ahead of us. We cannot affect what has happened in the past, now all we can do is look forward.
"The important games coming up mean too much to the players and more importantly to the Irish football public for us to be concerned with things over which we have no influence."
Cunningham, who was installed as captain in succession to Keane and the retired Steve Staunton before Ireland's opening Euro 2004 qualifier against Russia, has always been forthright in his opinions and complimentary about Keane's footballing ability.
He has always been pragmatic as well in his attitude towards matters affecting Ireland and his views yesterday after a training session at Baldonnel were clear and unequivocal.
"Roy is such a massive personality and a world-class player that I can understand to a certain extent how the story runs and runs. But we are still part of the Irish national team and we have a responsibility to ourselves and the supporters to stay focused on the games in hand and not to be deflected by things going on outside.
"That is not such a big effort, it's not as if we say let's put that to one side, let's concentrate on our football ... it's not a conscious thing because the players feel to a certain extent that it is done and dusted and, as players, all we can do is focus on the games ahead and let everything else take care of itself."
Cunningham extended this line of thought to embrace the controversies surrounding the publication of books referring to Ireland's experiences at the World Cup Keane's, Niall Quinn's and, most recently, Mick McCarthy's.
He said: "Particularly in relation to the events of the summer there is going to be a lot of interest in what Mick is going to say but that's Mick's prerogative. If he wants to put his feelings down in print that is his entitlement but it's not something that occupies the players' thoughts day in and day out."
Asked whether it was possible for Keane to return he said: "I don't give it a lot of thought and that is not a slight on Roy or being disrespectful to Roy or Mick or anybody else. I have no influence over what happens and I just feel it is a waste of energy from my point of view to be commenting on it in any great detail.
"I haven't got an over-inflated opinion about myself, I don't feel that what I have to say is going to have any particular bearing on it and the truth is everybody is pretty much focused on their football. We are all footballing people so the biggest buzz we get is what we achieve on the football pitch over the 90 minutes and not what we have to say in the press."
When it was suggested to him that anything other than a win over Switzerland would put give McCarthy's critics more ammunition he responded: "I am a little bit bemused to be honest. You do get a sense of a little bit of pessimism and negativity when you do pick up the papers and I find it difficult to see where it is coming from.
"I could understand it if the team was playing poorly and you were in one of those runs where you couldn't see where the next win was coming from. But if you look at the performances over the last three-four years and you look at the progress we have made under Mick McCarthy ... they say the rankings don't lie and we are 13th in the world and you can't argue with the stats.
"There is a progression there under Mick McCarthy and the squad is improving and is getting better. We've had a little blip against Russia but when you mention ammunition I don't understand where that's coming from.
"When you look at our stats I don't understand where that negativity is coming from."
He insisted the players were upbeat. "That (negativity) isn't reflected within the squad. After being in Dublin for the past couple of days I've spoken to a number of people and while everybody was disappointed with the result in Russia I haven't sensed any feeling of desperation amongst supporters.
"Their attitude is, 'yes, we've had a bad day at the office, but we're heading in the right direction.' We've got a great young squad of players that is getting better all the time under Mick McCarthy and there are grounds for a lot of optimism rather than pessimism. That's the feed-back I'm getting from the public."
He spoke directly to the assembled press corps when he said: "No disrespect to the people in the room today but that's where our loyalty lies, to the football public who put their hands in their pockets and buy their tickets for Lansdowne Road and those supporters who travel to the four ends of the earth to support us.
"As long as we retain their respect and their loyalty I think that's the most important thing."
Asked what impact it would have on the squad if McCarthy left he said: "I'd be sorry to see him go. That's probably a little bit selfish on my part because he gave me my international debut so I will be always grateful to him.
"But, of course, we all know one day it is going to come to an end, he will walk away from the job. It was the same with Jack Charlton before him despite the success he had.
"Until that day does arrive everybody's aim is to be as successful as we possibly can and we would get a lot of satisfaction if we could qualify for these European finals on the back of our World Cup success. It would be a fitting tribute to Mick if these players could qualify for a European Championship final.
"It is a compliment to him and indirectly to us as players that he is associated with every job vacancy in England that arises and it shows how highly regarded he is in football circles."
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