Trap: Don’t make fun of me

THE players Giovanni Trapattoni dubbed ‘the disappeared’ have reappeared in his squad for next month’s friendly against Croatia — but the manager has made it crystal clear that he will stand for no more repeats of the confusion which surrounded his last squad call-up back in May.

James McCarthy, Marc Wilson, Jon Walters and Darron Gibson have all been named in the latest selection, while the absence of Anthony Stokes this time has been attributed by Trapattoni to a straightforward desire to look at other options up front.

There is definitely no place for Caleb Folan, however, whose commitments to football in the US seems to have finally called time on his Irish career.

And while Trapattoni now appears to view McCarthy’s no-show last time as different to the rest — accepting that he was genuinely injured and also that, however belatedly, there was contact with the player — the manager will settle for nothing short of complete clarity about any players’ intentions from here on in.

“Last season is finished,” he said speaking in Ennistymon during the FAI’s Festival Of Football in Co. Clare.

“Now I will inform the players that the FAI, you, me and the other players must never again have to wait until just 20 hours before the game before we receive an answer (about a player’s availability).

“They must say to us ‘I wish to come or I prefer to stay at home’ They must be clear. We don’t want to be made fun of or have to put up with any sort of bad manners. Never before in any country have I had to do this. Not in Italy or anywhere else. I will not allow behaviour like that again. This is the last time.”

However, Trapattoni also said that by announcing a provisional 32-man squad yesterday, he was allowing for the expectation that there will be withdrawals from the squad for the Croatia game on August 10 since it comes just three days before the season kicks off in England.

But if, for whatever reason, a player pulls out, the most important thing for Trapattoni is that the Irish management are notified of the fact as early as possible.

“For two or three years, I have always defended the players for their pride, attitude and mentality,” he said.

“Now they must show us the proof of these words because I put myself on the line by defending them. I give them trust and I don’t want to be betrayed. That is very important. I know there have been a few misunderstandings. It’s just about being clear. I want to come or not — simple. I have to have a team of men, not children, and clarity is paramount.”

Responding to media reports of a physical bust-up between a player and a member of the backroom staff in Dublin during the squad’s last stay in the capital, Trapattoni said that he intended to “clarify the situation” when the squad reassembles in Dublin next month.

But it seemed the Italian wasn’t inclined to make too much of a drama about drinking habits in the Irish squad.

“Psychologically, I understand this after 30 years in football. I have also been in Portugal, Austria, Germany.

“It is not just you. There are the same habits in England. But there is a right time and a wrong time for this. I am not military. If players want to misbehave, they will do it. But it is important to give them trust.”

On the subject of his as yet unopened contract negotiations with the FAI, the Italian once again appeared to adopt a carrot and stick approach.

“I think the FAI know our opinion,” he said. “I wish not to put pressure on the FAI but it will be important to clarify in the future because we can also look elsewhere. There are other places. But, for me it would be a pity (if a new contract is not offered). Now the team is on a good path and I think our work is about to bear fruit.”