System change takes time, insists Trap

Giovanni Trapattoni has hinted at changing Ireland’s 4-4-2 formation for the first time since he came under pressure following the performance against Kazakhstan.

“I am not so silly as to not know how to set up a 4-3-3. I tried against Serbia but after 20 minutes I was forced to go back to 4-4-2. It’s not easy to change habits, schools [of thought] and traditions. It takes time,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport.

Trapattoni says his players will define what system he plays.

“I have people who play little in the Premier League. Football is going in that direction, it’s less local and more international... it’s with these interchanges that the culture of football grows.

“Foreign coaches, the exchange of information, more TV. It’s like [Arsene] Wenger says, it’s the quality of the players that suggests the system to you.

“If you want to play possession football and as soon as the crowd boos your player loses it, what can you come up with? Today they are massacring a young colleague [Massimiliano Allegri at AC Milan].”