Time to save the talking for the pitch

ROBBIE KEANE, Shay Given and Sean St Ledger all generated headlines this week by declaring the FAI should not delay any longer in giving Giovanni Trapattoni a new contract.

To which you might feel entitled to say: “well, they would, wouldn’t they?” seeing as they were slap bang in the middle of a week of dealing with the gaffer on a daily basis on the training ground, in the hotel and on the pitch.

And, of course, they were also being put on the spot by us pesky journos, so it wasn’t as if they had voluntarily announced the launch of a ‘Keep Trap at all costs’ campaign and were out collecting signatures for a petition.

On the other hand, as those of us cradling tape recorders full of not so sweet nothings know only too well, professional footballers are adept at dodging a question when they want to. If the Irish players had felt so inclined this week, they could easily have formulated a non-response along the lines of, “Well, look, we have no say in that decision. That’s up to the FAI. All we can do is our best on the pitch and all we’re concentrating on is this week’s massive, massive game against Croatia.”

But Shay Given, for one, went much further than that: “We should get it done and get it put to bed. I’ve said many times I think we’re very privileged to have him as a manager because he’s such a great coach.

“I just think for such a small nation to have someone world renowned in football is fantastic. I would hope he would extend his contract, definitely, and be here for another couple of years.”

And Keane and St Ledger both enthusiastically referenced the main points of Ireland’s record under Trap: a promising world cup qualifying campaign which ended only with an infamous play-off defeat to France and, now, in the current European Championship campaign, the fact Ireland are joint top of the table with four games to go.

Aye, but there’s the rub. There are, indeed, four games to go – and the current picture of health could have changed considerably by the time the Group B race is run.

Recall the uncertain state of play going into the summer, when the build-up to Ireland’s end of season international fixtures was overshadowed by the controversial withdrawals of a number of players. The mood was rather different then, the column inches liberally playing host to words like “farce” and “fiasco”, against the backdrop of a consensus which held that Giovanni Trapattoni’s authority had been badly undermined.

Then came two Carling Cup victories, a vital three competitive points in Skopje and, the icing on the cake, an unlikely and celebrated 2-0 away win over Italy in Liege. Throw in the sub-plots of Robbie Keane breaking the 50-goal mark and the emergence of another striking option in Simon Cox and, suddenly, everyone was going off on their holidays in the highest of spirits.

In other words, it’s results on the pitch which dictate everything else – from the place on the table, to the media consensus, to the popular mood and, almost by definition, to the security of the manager’s position.

Sure, there continue to be legitimate grumblings about the absence of the wow factor in Irish football under Trapattoni – and Wednesday’s borefest against Croatia did little to alleviate them – but they will fade to nothing more than a minor background hum (with the odd Dunphyesque eruption) should the Italian mastermind the end of a ten-year qualification drought and lead Ireland to the Euro finals in Poland and the Ukraine next summer.

If that goal is achieved by the Autumn then, automatically, Trapattoni will get his chance to fulfil his stated dream of leading Ireland out on the road to Rio (let’s not trouble ourselves, for now, by contemplating an alternative nightmare scenario which, understandably, no-one ever raises: qualification for the Euros next summer followed by a disastrous outing at the finals themselves. No, let’s move smartly along from that one).

Even as things stand, there is undoubted merit in the argument of Shay Given and the others, soundly buttressed by the record and the strengthening of the squad under his watch, that Trapattoni has already done enough to date to warrant an extension to his contract. And, arguably, even enough to stay in the job if, once again, Ireland end up losing out only narrowly to qualify for the finals next summer.

Certainly, any decision to discard him would need to take into serious account the limited supply of alternative available candidates of similar authority and expertise, not to mention the FAI’s doubtful ability – with or without the financial help of Denis O’ Brien – to interest other big names in the post.

But we’re falling into the old trap here of running before we can walk. And, seen-it-all-before veteran than he is, Trapattoni knows this better than anyone. Yes, he has made it abundantly clear he wants to stay on and, sure, he’s dropped the odd sobering reminder about the possibilities of gainful employment elsewhere, just to help concentrate minds as it were, but even as late as this week he was pointing out that, in reality, his position depends on a number of factors, including the will of the fans, the media and the FAI. But, most of all, the Italian knows it’s all about results. Which is why the most important issue for the national team right now is not whether Giovanni Trapattoni will still be the manager in 2012. It’s the acquisition of three points against Slovakia in Dublin on October 2.

It might not be the headline-grabbing stuff we crave, but as Trap himself likes to say: “there are the moments” – and this is definitely one – when the only sensible thing to do is take it one game at a time.