Forde dwells on positive

One goalkeeper to another, David Forde felt for Keiren Westwood, the man between the Irish sticks when Germany ran riot at the Aviva this time last year.

“It’s not nice when you see balls flying past,” he grimaces.

Not that Ireland’s Number One needs any reminding, having been in goal for Millwall as recently as last Saturday when Bournemouth turned their Championship match on its head to win 5-2.

“That’s football,” he says. “You’re 2-0 up after 15 minutes and you think the game is over and all of a sudden you concede just before half-time and the complexion of the game changes and the mentality changes. Certainly I hope that will be the case in Cologne. Hopefully, Germany will be coming into the game a bit relaxed and complacent and we can capitalise.”

Trust a goalkeeper to turn a negative into a positive but then this week is all about Ireland putting their best foot forward, even if the vast majority probably think they’re on a hiding to nothing next Friday.

“That’s football, that’s being a footballer,” Forde reflects. “You have a bad result, you have a bad time, and then strength of mind is what it’s all about, how you can turn things around. That’s what gives you longevity in the game: you make a mistake and you don’t make two.”

Noel King might be a transitional manager but, Forde observes, he still represents a new departure for the squad.

“It always seems to happen,” he says, “whether at club or international level, that when a new manager comes in, it always puts a spring in everybody’s step because it’s a fresh chance, and a chance for people to impress and to get themselves in the team and to stake a claim for the shirt.

“I know Noel from back in the day, when he was at Shamrock Rovers and involved in the league and stuff. He did fantastically well back then, and he’s currently doing a great job with the 21s. His main focus now is beating Germany, which is great. He’s come in and been very vocal. He’s got across his points. Even from today, he’s laid down a marker of the way we want to play, and hopefully we’ll reap the rewards.

“We know it’s going to be a difficult game. They’re probably one of the top teams in the world, full of top, top players. They’re modern day footballers. Pace, power, technically excellent. It’s going to take a massive effort. But no matter what game of football, you’re always going to get a chance, so hopefully we can counter-attack and get on the end of some goals.

“We’re still in a transition period. So there’s always going to be a risk too. You look at previous managers and their systems and the way they played and it is difficult to transform a team overnight and to get different ideas and a different mentality into players. But every time you stick on a shirt for your country, that’s what’s at stake. Whether you have a manager or no manager, you’re playing for your country. If you’re managerless, you’ve got to go out there and give everything you’ve got.

“And, with Irish sides down the years, when we’ve been massive underdogs, you never know what might happen. Everything’s possible in football, I mean, you look at the likes of Chelsea and you wouldn’t have given them a kick in Bayern Munich’s backyard and yet they won there in the Champions League. That’s the beauty of it, that’s why we all love football, because you don’t know what’s going to happen.”

And though World Cup 2014 might be gone for Ireland, what happens on Friday could yet exert a significant influence on many more days to come. In short, David Forde believes that France 2016 starts here.

“Whoever the next manager is will have his eyes fixed on the game,” says Forde. “He’ll be watching for performances so I think everybody knows what’s at stake in terms of what’s coming up in the future.”