Trap reverts to type

First, Giovanni Trapattoni appeared to confound popular logic by leaving James McClean out of the latest Irish squad. Then he appeared to confound his own logic by calling him up.

But, now, as Ireland go into their final European Championships warm-up game before May, the manager has reverted to type.

The only changes he has opted to make for tonight’s starting 11 against the Czech Republic at the Aviva Stadium are enforced by injury, Darren O’Dea deputising for Richard Dunne and Shane Long coming in for Kevin Doyle, who had to withdraw yesterday with a hamstring problem. Keith Fahey is another out with injury and, with Darron Gibson also absent, that should theoretically enhance James McCarthy’s chances of seeing some action before the night is out.

But don’t hold your breath, especially since Derby’s Paul Green is also back in the reckoning. Trapattoni attaches a lot of significance to the FIFA rankings which, coupled with his belief in the importance of maintaining a winning — or, at least, not losing — habit means he won’t be inclined to put the result of even a friendly at risk simply in order to look at players outside his preferred first 11. True, he has already signposted debuts for both McClean and fellow Derry new boy Shane Duffy tonight — but the length of time they get on the pitch, if any, is set to be dictated in large measure by the state of play.

The choice of Long to lead the line ahead of Jon Walters or Simon Cox is tactical, Trapattoni explaining it will allow him to play captain Robbie Keane in a more withdrawn role.

“You remember two or three years ago I said Robbie could play like Totti? This is what I meant,” the manager said at his pre-match press conference. “I thought also about Walters because he played well in qualification. But in this moment I wish to give Robbie the opportunity to play between midfield and striker. I’ve done this to facilitate Robbie so he can carry the game, he can feel which kind of game it will be. And Long, who is fast, is the player who can be the out and out striker. I’ve been studying the games of Spain and the others in our Euros group and I thought Long could play this role tonight so that Robbie could play deeper. I think Robbie can do this well and tonight will be a test of this.”

It’s hardly an unfamiliar role for Keane, even if it’s one he has tended to play more for club than country. “At club level I’ve nearly always played that role,” said Keane, “whereas my role is a little bit different for Ireland, playing higher up and getting on to flick-ons. But I’m used to playing in the number 10 position, if you like, between the striker and midfield, and especially in the last couple of months with Aston Villa. But I’ve also done it at Tottenham where I used to interchange positions with Berbatov.”

Other than this tweaking, Trapattoni clearly sees tonight’s game as an occasion for consolidation rather than experimentation. Indeed, he more or less conceded that, fitness permitting, he already knows the starting 11 for Ireland’s opening group game against Croatia in June, and all the signs suggest it will be the core team which steered Ireland to qualification: Given, O’Shea, St Ledger, Dunne, Ward, Duff, Whelan, Andrews, McGeady, Doyle and Keane.

So it looks like it’s going to take either something cruel for one of the established players or something exceptional from one of the neophytes to alter things by summer.

“It’s easy to use words like ‘friendly game’ but a friendly game isn’t a friendly game with this shirt,” said Trapattoni. “The international shirt is always heavy, and every game is a chance to increase personality and self-esteem. You can’t just say it’s a friendly and play the young ones.

“First we have to have respect for the players who contributed to qualifying. Sure, the young can contribute in the future. But now we need to have the players with personality, condition and experience. Hunt, McGeady, Duff — these players deserve this. This group always played well. Okay, if there is an injury, then I will have to re-examine the situation. But, at the moment, the squad for the Euros will be this one, more or less. I am not going to turn everything around just for the sake of change.”