Manager has crucial calls to make in midfield

Stuck in the middle with who? A player of the quality of Robert Lewandowski may have been the difference against Poland last night, but the wonder will be whether Martin O’Neill could have done things differently in the centre of the pitch.

If Ireland do make it to France, you can already see one of the customary big discussion points growing: will the manager play Glenn Whelan or Wes Hoolahan?

There’s also the way that both players kind of represent bigger ideas, as tends to only deepen these type of debates.