Trap outlines vision for brighter future

Giovanni Trapattoni has said he will try out a new system for Ireland ahead of the start of the World Cup campaign in September, after his adherence to 4-4-2 — and his efforts to tweak same — came up woefully short at Euro 2012.

The manager highlighted the August friendly away to Serbia as an opportunity to test a new formation before Ireland commence a World Cup qualifying campaign which will see them compete in a group containing Germany, Sweden and Austria, as well as the Faroes and Kazakhstan.

Speaking in Poznan before the Irish team flew home from Poland yesterday, the manager reiterated his commitment to staying at the helm and said he would try to convince senior players who might be considering retirement to remain on board. But he also signalled a desire to freshen up the side, suggesting that players like James McClean, Darron Gibson, Seamus Coleman, Greg Cunningham and, in particular, James McCarthy, can feature much more prominently in the future. Of the Wigan midfielder, who missed the Euro finals because of his father’s illness, Trapattoni said: “He allows us to change the system.”