King refuses to rush selection decision

With every day, every training session and every discussion with staff and players, Noel King is edging closer to solving the puzzle of what he calls “fitting everybody together” for Friday night’s daunting assignment in Cologne.

Actually, the fitting together bit is daunting enough in itself, especially with time so tight for Ireland’s caretaker manager.

“If you think about all that, you’ll go mad,” he said yesterday. “But this is where we are, as the fella says. You have to deal with what you have to deal with. I have no gripes. You didn’t have to take the job if you didn’t want it (laughs).”

It comes as no surprise then to learn that it could even be as late as Friday morning before King finally settles on his line-up to face Germany.

“People who work with me know I drive them mad until the last minute,” he remarked. “Until I have to make the right decision, I will go through all the avenues, talk to people, bounce it around. That’s the process. I’d regularly leave it (the final call) until the morning of the match. I’ve been known to go to bed with one team and wake up with another.”

Four players from Dundalk (Richie Towell, Andy Boyle, John Sullivan, Curtis Byrne), and Shamrock Rovers’ David Elebert helped King put flesh on his options at Gannon Park yesterday making up numbers for the 11 v 11 game.

“I do that all the time,” he explained. “I do it with the U21s, bring lads in to make up the tactical correctness. Because if you have people that you need to rest, it can be a little false with your sessions if you have 8 v 8 or 9 v 9. 11 v 11 makes it more real. Obviously, it can never be real because you can’t replicate Germany but you’re hoping some of the issues come out.”

As King rotated the troops and tweaked the tactics yesterday, the sight of Marc Wilson playing midfield in one session and full-back in another was one illustration of the kind of decision the manager has to make. Anthony Stokes alternately playing wide and through the middle was another example of the options available.

“Anthony has the ability to play well as a centre forward, a No 10, wide on the right and he played for me at U21 wide on the left,” King pointed out. “That’s a great range, but there are other forwards there with great range too.”

Not least the man who looks nailed-on — not that Noel King will say so — to start in Cologne: the evergreen Robbie Keane, fresh in from his latest goal-grabbing exploits in LA for his first session under the interim boss.

“It’s great,” King enthused. “He’s got a spark, he’s a great professional, he wants to play for Ireland, he loves Ireland. I spoke to him on the phone first so he wished me all the best and we spoke a little bit about football. He’s a natural leader, he wants to win, there is not a problem.”

One other crucial bit of news from Gannon Park: after being spotted by eagle-eyed snappers with Giovanni Trapattoni’s initialled kit bag on Monday, Noel King was brandishing his own personally autographed version yesterday.

“Look — Leon Gnik,” he chortled, showing off the upside down inscription.

With no fresh injury worries to report, the Irish squad will train again in Malahide this morning before flying out to Germany.