Trap re-affirms commitment

EVEN having seen his team only survive the siege of Moscow by a miracle, Giovanni Trapattoni would still rather manage Ireland than try to manage in a real war zone.

Saying he continues to receive job offers from other clubs and countries, the manager yesterday revealed that, in the recent past, there had been contact from the football association of a nation which subsequently went to war.

“We receive phone calls, even from places which are at war at the moment,” he said in Dublin before flying home to Milan. “It was important to wait because a week later, it goes ‘boom, boom, boom’.”

Neither Trapattoni nor Marco Tardelli were prepared to be any more specific, declining to identify the country in question when it was suggested that they might have been talking about Libya.

In any event, the real point of Trapattoni’s remark was to reiterate his commitment to the Irish job even though qualification for the European finals has not yet been secured and the FAI have still to open up negotiations on new contracts for the Italian management team.

Trapattoni said he wasn’t disappointed the association has yet to begin talks, and appeared resigned to the reality there will probably be no significant movement until after thefinal qualifying games against Andorra and Armenia.

Nevertheless, he also said he can’t wait indefinitely and that, if other offers do come in, he will feel bound to immediately notify the FAI.

“I’m not disappointed because I know the responsibility of the FAI,” he said. “But they must inform us when they wish to speak. I have changed management a number of times in my career and it has always been my decision to go even when the clubs wanted me to stay. I have a gut feeling about when something is finished or not.

“But we feel our work with Ireland is not finished. I speak to Marco about this. We believe we have the possibility to improve this team because we have many young players who wish to learn. And I think we deserve to continue too.”

Asked if he would approach FAI boss John Delaney to begin discussions, Trapattoni said no.

“I wish to leave him quiet and serene,” he said.

Trapattoni added that he hadn’t seen the CEO throwing his tie to the Irish fans at the end of the game in Moscow: “After the final whistle I go straight to the dressing room.”

A recent unconfirmed report suggested that any new deal would require both the minimum of a play-off place as well as further pay cuts for the management team but, yesterday, Trapattoni was not about to get embroiled in the nitty-gritty.

“In this context I don’t want to discuss this,” he said. “First we must see if we can achieve the results or not. If the FAI want to we can discuss this or other issues but my concentration now is on Andorra and Armenia.”

Ireland’s incredible escape in Moscow and Armenia’s shock victory in Zilina on Tuesday have merely reinforced for Trapattoni the sense of recurring unpredictability in the Group B race.

“We have two not easy games to come but ones we can win,” he said. “Russia play Slovakia and for Slovakia it will be the last chance. I do not have the crystal ball. I didn’t think Slovakia would lose 4-0. That is football. We must pay attention because, sure, Slovakia were playing to win and Armenia are very quick on the counter-attack. If you remember in Armenia, it was a very difficult game. They are strong and their mentality is very quick.”

And the manager won’t be taking any chances in Andorra either, saying that he wouldn’t even think about leaving out players — like Kevin Doyle, Glenn Whelan and Stephen Ward — just because they are on yellow cards going into the game against the group minnows.

“No, no” he said, “I will not jeopardise three points. That’s what it’s all about.”

And despite Ireland getting the runaround in their last two games, Trapattoni will stick to his ways for the final two tests of the campaign, trusting that the benefits of further game time between now and then for the likes of Doyle, Robbie Keane and Aiden McGeady will significantly improve the strength of Ireland’s performances going into the home straight.

Trapattoni clarified that he has no worries about Doyle’s knee but rather about his overall conditioning after the player dived in at the deep end this season following two months out of action. The manager said that he didn’t blame Wolves for relying on him to start the new season in the demanding role of lone striker but suggested that the effort had taken a toll.

Meanwhile, it could hardly have come as a surprise to anyone yesterday to get confirmation that Trapattoni is not a gambling man, a revelation which emerged when he briefly confused Las Vegas with Los Angeles while talking about Robbie Keane.

“You can believe that in my life I have never bet on roulette or cards,” he grinned. “I began at 14 years old in football and I had luck all my life. It’s impossible to ask for more by playing roulette. I have never played, even when I was in Las Vegas on holiday.”