‘Wessi’ letting his feet do the talking

Eamon Dunphy has slammed Martin O’Neill for seemingly regarding him as a bit of a homer while Ronnie Whelan, even though he’s another self-confessed fan, has expressed the fear that he might get “gobbled up” in the heat of the expected battle between Ireland and Scotland on Saturday.

Martin O’Neill, the only man whose opinion counts, hasn’t said yea or nay to whether there will be a starting place for him in the team but, encouragingly, spoke again this week about how he is the kind of player who can do damage “between the lines” with a trademark piece of invention or surgical pass.

As usual, the man at the centre of it all, Wes Hoolahan, prefers to let his feet do most of the talking, and the hope amongst his many fans will be that he’s at his eloquent best as Ireland seek to reboot their qualifying campaign at the weekend.