An Irish chance would be a fine thing

Martin O’Neill is clear about the single most important improvement he wants to see in Ireland’s performance against Scotland next week.

After watching his side draw a blank in Celtic Park last November and then doing the same again in yesterday’s tepid warm-up against England, the manager is anxious to discover some fresh life in the final third.

“I think we need to create more chances,” he said. “We need to create a bit more. And I think the very obvious thing, if you’re going by stats, is that the more chances we create, the more chance we have of scoring one or two. That’s what we’ll be looking to do.