I’ll entertain players if they get bored, declares Martin O’Neill

Martin O’Neill has poured scorn on the suggestion he will have to guard against the boredom and grumbles that were supposedly rife among Giovanni Trapattoni’s Republic of Ireland squad in the lead-up and during Euro 2012.

Ireland’s disastrous campaign in Poland four years ago, when finishing with the worst record in the history of the competition, led to a drip of stories about players reportedly disenchanted by rigid training schedules and an absence of down time.

“I’ll get them to watch Action Man,” said a deadpan O’Neill after first regaling the media about a recent trip of his own to the cinema. “How can you get bored at the Euros? You can’t. Some of my group are very boring anyway.