Players must behave, warns Trap

Giovanni Trapattoni has said that he expects his players to be responsible and to “not betray the Irish people” by breaching discipline off the pitch during the European Championship finals.

The manager made his remarks when asked on Saturday about his choice of the Irish squad’s luxury hotel in Poland — the Sopot Sheraton — which is located right in the heart of a bustling summer resort, only a few minutes’ walk from the distractions of both the beach and a street crammed with bars and nightclubs.

“The first thing is to give the team a comfortable location and this hotel is very comfortable,” he said. “We have two floors only for us and outside we will have police and our security. For this short time, I am sure our players are conscious, are aware, of how important this campaign is.

“And, sure, we will give them an evening or an opportunity after a game to stay and eat with their families.

“I have spoken to them before and I will speak again about how seriously they must take this. It’s my hope that any problems are in the past.

“I think our players are responsible and understand the importance of this tournament. For them, it’s better to stay in a comfortable location. And I know Eastern European cities — there won’t be any chance of anyone coming and going from the hotel at their leisure.

“We will pay very close attention but I think our players are mature enough for this responsibility. They can’t betray our trust.”

Without mentioning the player’s name, Trapattoni brought up the night in Mainz, ahead of the World Cup qualifier against Georgia in 2008, when a music and drink session in the team hotel went on too long for the manager’s liking, and he led to his infamous falling out with Andy Reid.

But there have been other occasions since, when the manager has spoken of his anger at breaches of curfew.

“And one or two paid the price for this situation,” he revealed. “Others changed their behaviour. One or two had habits but I am confident that they will be responsible when we give them the opportunity of time to stay with family. It is important that they don’t betray, not just us, but the Irish people.”

Initially, there was some confusion in Trapattoni’s answer to a related question about Saipan, — and Roy Keane’s complaints about Irish preparations for the 2002 World Cup — when the manager began talking about dodgy match pitches rather than dodgy training pitches but, still, there was no mistaking his bottom-line insistence that players should always keep their eyes on the prize.

“We shouldn’t look for stupid excuses,” he said. “There are always two sides to every story. I don’t want to discuss Roy Keane, that was another time, another situation. But, please, there can be no looking for excuses. Of course we try to do our best for the players. We prepare as well as possible to be well. But it can’t be about this excuse or that excuse. It’s about having heart and will.”

The manager revealed that a proposed warm-up game in Italy, on May 30, could now double as a fundraiser for the family of Italian footballer Piermario Morosini who died after collapsing on the pitch while playing for Livorno two weeks ago. Ireland were weighing up the option of playing Albania on that date during their Italian training camp but might now instead play this charity game against a local selection.

The shock death of the player brought back sad memories for both Trapattoni and Marco Tardelli — Trap was in the dugout and Tardelli on the pitch for Juventus when Perugia’s Renato Curi died in a game between the two sides in 1977.

Trapattoni names his Euros squad of 23 — plus four to six standby players — in Dublin next Monday. Sunderland’s James McClean, he said, had a “90 to 99%” chance of making it which sounded almost like a done deal, until the manager added that all the players still in contention have the same 90 to 99% chance.

Encouraging news from over the weekend was that Richard Dunne got through an impressive 90 minutes on his return for Aston Villa, while Stephen Hunt also got back into action as a substitute for Wolves.

On the downside, Trapattoni reported that one unnamed player had told him he feared he might not make the tournament but the manager declined to give any more details until he names his squad in seven days’ time.

Current injury concerns include Birmingham’s Keith Fahey, who is still struggling with a groin problem, and Darron Gibson, who was forced out of the Everton side after 45 minutes on Saturday.