Whelan wants to see back of Trap’s 4-4-2

Overrun Ireland midfielder claims system plays into the hands of opposition.

Glenn Whelan has hinted at it here and there in days past. He has qualified it and skirted around it but now he has just come out and said it. If Ireland are to compete with the very best, Giovanni Trapattoni’s 4-4-2 has to go.

Russia, Slovakia and Armenia served ample warnings in Group B of the qualifying campaign in fixtures where Ireland’s midfield was repeatedly overrun and the performances against Croatia and Spain have only reinforced the reality that it needs to change.