Kelly and Walters hail brave new era

Stephen Kelly has praised the way Martin O’Neill has had the Irish team “going for the throat” from the start or games as he and Jon Walters enthused about the “different vibe” surrounding the side.

“It’s been excellent, it’s been great,” Kelly said. “I think everybody is saying the same thing. He (O’Neill) has been enthusiastic and the atmosphere is fantastic. The information coming back from the manager has been excellent and I suppose that has shown in the games. We’ve come out and gone for the throat. In the first half I thought we really put it up to them (Poland) for spells. There is a different vibe, I suppose the issues are fresh and that’s what happens whenever a new manager comes in, you get that boost and hopefully that can continue into the qualifiers.”

Kelly did get to rectify one personal issue in the 0-0 draw against Poland in Poznan, as he finally got to compete in one of the stadiums where he sat as a non-playing reserve through all of Euro 2012.