Rejuvenated Reid ready to roll back the years

When Andy Reid ambles over to the press huddle at Gannon Park, the first questions are inevitably all about his return to the Irish camp and the changes he has observed after an absence of five years.

“I suppose it’s been a little bit strange after so long but everybody has welcomed me back in and it’s been nice, yeah,” he says. “I think one thing I probably have noticed is that things are a lot more professional than maybe they have been in the past, with our recovery drinks and all the different bits of nutritional stuff that goes with it — but I suppose that’s just football moving on in general. The medical staff have moved on too and they’ve improved things vastly.

“It’s been a nice few days catching up with people again and we’ve got quite a bit of good work done on the training pitch with regards to the game on Friday night.”

Which, he is quick to emphasise, is the point of the whole exercise, after all.

“Leave aside everything — the lads coming back, myself coming back — the main focus has got to be on the game.

“It would be easy to get wrapped up in all the other little bits and pieces that surround it but it’s about the game on Friday night and it’s very important that everybody focuses on that.”

The Nottingham Forest midfielder is happy to be reminded that he turned in an outstanding performance when Ireland held Germany to a scoreless draw in Dublin back in October, 2007 but he doesn’t demur when the caveat is added that the opposition have, as it were, kicked on somewhat since then.

“Just a little bit, yeah,” he deadpans. “I was watching Bayern Munich against Man City the other week and it was an impressive display. A lot of their players will be involved on Friday so I don’t think anybody is under any illusions about the task we face. But Irish teams have been renowned for pulling out resolute performances at the times when they’re most needed.

“There’s a lot of ability in our squad. We feel that if we have a good shape and do the other side of it well then we can hurt them, we can score goals against them.

“There are going to be a lot of periods when we’re defending, there’s going to be a lot of concentration required and we’re going to have to be clever about how we play the game. You can’t go attacking every time you get the ball, there’s going to have to be possession kept.

“There are a lot of factors that go in to us hopefully getting the result we want. We’re a small nation, we’ve always been the underdog when we play against the top teams and I think more times than not we’ve given a good account of ourselves. When our backs are against the wall, that’s sometimes when an Irish team pulls out a performance that nobody expects.”

Does Reid think he’s done enough since his return to give Noel King something to think about when it comes to finalising his line-up?

“I’d like to feel I’ve given a good account of myself,” he replies. “I’ve trained well, I’ve worked hard. It’s sometimes difficult in this scenario. You’re working on a lot of shape and it can be quite stop-start so it’s hard to get any rhythm.”

And what, we ask, would being picked mean to the 31-year-old Dubliner?

“Listen, it would mean the same as it meant to me the very first time I pulled on an Ireland shirt when I was 14.

It meant the world to me every time I played for Ireland and it’s no different now.

“Probably even more so,” he corrects himself with a smile, “after the break that I’ve had.”