Givens reflects on Italian job one year after landing Trap

IT’S ALMOST a year to the day since Don Givens completed his work as chairman of the three-man committee tasked by the FAI to find a new international manager.

It was a job well done, despite what had been said and written during 73 days of rampant speculation which threatened to tip the island over, a period which still rankles with Givens.

But they came up with a decent result, Giovanni Trapattoni being the sort of mythical creature with a seat at the top table of football coaches. Although the former Juventus supremo might like his midfielders industrial and his winning margins slender, Givens, Don Howe and Ray Houghton will never be faulted.

“When you look at the man’s record, it wasn’t a gamble really,” Givens said in Cork this week, as he named his U-21 squad for the upcoming friendly against Germany at Turner’s Cross. “His record speaks for itself. He has a way of doing things that is a little Italian. Old habits die hard, 1-0 is enough.

“And it is enough!” the 56-times capped former international adds laughing.

Georgia at Croke Park on Wednesday week will mark the anniversary of the day the Italian agreed to come on board.

“We’re delighted with the way things are going,” he admits. “I was chairman of the selection committee so you do feel a bit of responsibility.

“We’ve started very well and we’re in a decent position. We’ve two home games coming up now. If we take six points, we’ll have broken the back of the campaign.

“He needs a little bit of luck. We need to keep our big players fit, the likes of Richard Dunne. If players like him are taken out of the equation, it leaves a big hole and the team could go through a dip.”

Speaking of which, it would be remiss not to mention the elephant missing from the midfield engine room.

“I really think that there’s only one person who should field questions about Stephen Ireland and that’s Stephen Ireland,” Givens offers wearily. “What can I say, what can Trapattoni say? The boy’s got the answers.

“I’d say go and address that question to him. The lad is like that. I fail to understand why we keep writing about him. I think we’re feeding his ego. The decision is his so all questions should be directed to Manchester.”

Not entirely unrelated, did the media circus around the search for Steve Staunton’s successor take him by surprise? “It was a hectic period,” he smiles. “As chairman of the committee, the focus was very much on me for statements and things like that. I was also finishing my Pro licence which took up a lot of time. And I was also taking the team against Brazil.

“I think the very fact we wanted to keep it confidential — it frustrated a few people. We all have a job to do and if I can help people do it, I will. But in that case, I couldn’t help anybody. I didn’t have anything to say. It was silly season.

“It gave certain journalists ammunition to have a bit of a go. They were putting a time limit on it much more than the FAI.

“The good thing for us was that we were living in England. One or two individual journalists got me down because they were just writing lies. Maybe if I was here more, the coverage would have got to me a little more. It didn’t help either that it was close season in the League of Ireland — there was nothing else to talk about.”

He does however admit there were nice elements to the saga. “I got to meet a lot of high-profile people who wanted our job. That was enjoyable.”

In the end, of course, they landed the big fish. With players thin on the ground at senior level, the Italian will surely keep on eye on proceedings in Turner’s Cross on Tuesday week.

“Marco (Tardelli) and Liam (Brady) will probably come down and Giovanni will watch it on TV in Dublin. So it’s a good chance for these young guys to make an impression. He’s not averse to taking young guys into the squad if he sees something he likes.

“He has his way of setting up the team and he’s not going to change. Maybe at some point, settling for 1-0 will result in 1-1 and then the knives will sharpen. The results are going alright so they have a go because he’s not watching matches. Some people would rather read shite than good news.”

“At least at U21 level, it isn’t as intense.”