Euro places up for grabs as ‘opportunity’ knocks, says Martin O’Neill

Martin O’Neill is not a man, or a manager, to use the phrase “last chance saloon”. Indeed, he even prefers to call the friendlies against Switzerland and Slovakia “an opportunity” rather than “a trial”. 

But, however you word it, for a number of Irish players — from a veteran like Kevin Doyle to the uncapped Alan Judge — it’s clear that these back to back games could prove pivotal in determining if they make the final Euros squad of 23.

On Colorado Rapids’ Doyle, O’Neill said yesterday: “It’s not a case of going to America and being out of sight, out of mind, but perhaps I thought that he still had something to offer over in the British game. The MLS seems to be improving, every year it seems to be getting in better players, but I thought that maybe he had a little bit more to offer before heading out. But that’s only a personal viewpoint.