Charlton: Last eight spot would be huge

Jack Charlton believes that guiding the Republic of Ireland into the knock-out stages of Euro 2012 would be an achievement to rank alongside Giovanni Trapattoni’s greatest in a distinguished career.

Charlton, who led the country into the later stages of two tournaments, and within eight minutes of the semi-finals of Euro 88 in his celebrated 10-year tenure, isn’t ruling out a scenario where Trapattoni’s outsiders secure an unlikely passage into the last eight.

Calling for a repeat of the memorable victory he oversaw against the Italians in the 1994 World Cup, Charlton said: “They’ve got three very tough games in there, about as difficult as they come, and simply to make it out of that group would be a great achievement in my book and one of which Trap and the players could be rightly proud. I suppose if they’re looking for omens, we beat Italy when we met them in New York, and looking at them now, they’re not as good now.”

Recent hip replacement surgery in the wake of a fall at home put paid to any hope the England World Cup-winner had of travelling to Poland and Ukraine to take in the tournament. However, the sprightly 77-year-old, now thankfully well on the road to recovery, will be a keen armchair supporter at his Northumberland home. He is quick to pay tribute to the progress made during the four-year reign of Trapattoni.

“Trap has done a terrific job. He’s someone I’ve got to know through football, and I’d often bump into him at games when we were both doing a bit of scouting work for different purposes. I met him a few times when I was in charge of Ireland. When he came over he tended to stay in the same hotel as me so we’d often meet up for a drink. We’d sit and talk football all night, he’s good company, and a very nice man.”