Pat Jennings: ‘Everywhere I went people would break into applause’

Liam Brady once said the best two keepers he played with were also the quietest — Dino Zoff and Pat Jennings. The latter knows the uphill battle facing Northern Ireland this month, but is living proof of what can be achieved punching above their weight.

Leicester City will be an inspiration for many of the lesser lights hoping to spring a surprise in France this summer, but Northern Ireland will be summoning the spirit of ’82 as they take on a tough group containing world champions Germany as well as Poland and Ukraine.

Michael O’Neill’s side did superbly to qualify for Euro 2016, earning themselves an all-time high Fifa ranking of 26th in the world as they won a group containing Greece, who were managed by Claudio Ranieiri before he took over at Leicester.

There are bigger tests to come now — starting today against Poland — but if O’Neill’s men can show the resolve and resourcefulness of 1982, when they beat host nation Spain in the World Cup, anything can happen. Pat Jennings knows all about football’s ability to surprise. He was in goal that night in Valencia, when Gerry Armstrong’s goal beat the Spanish despite Billy Bingham’s side being reduced to ten men when defender Mal Donaghy was sent off after an hour.

And as a goalkeeping coach at Tottenham, he saw at close quarters how the Premier League was turned on its head this season, with Spurs and Leicester involved in an unlikely title race as Chelsea, Liverpool and the two Manchester giants all struggled to compete.

After the disappointment of his club missing out in May, Jennings is hoping his country can upset the odds in France. After all, this is a man who went to the 1986 World Cup after a year out of first-team action and still played superbly, winning his 119th — and final — cap against Brazil on his 41st birthday.

“There was no fairytale ending, as we lost to Brazil, but we had punched above our weight once again, as we had in all the time I played for Northern Ireland, and they are going to have to do the same this year if they are to have any success at Euro 2016.”

For such a big man, in both stature and in the history of the game, Jennings is quietly-spoken and modest. He was widely considered the greatest goalkeeper in the world at his peak in the 1970s and 80s, at a time that straddled the careers of Gordon Banks, Peter Shilton and Dino Zoff. Jennings was right up there, and needed to be on top of his game on that night in Valencia. “We were in a tough group with Spain, the hosts, and Yugoslavia, who were a very strong side then. Honduras were considered even weaker than ourselves, yet they gave us our hardest game, a 1-1 draw. We also drew with Yugoslavia, which meant we needed to beat Spain to go through — and we won 1-0. It was the biggest shock of the tournament. Some of our lads already had their bags packed ready to go home, and had to unpack them.”

And all of this was against the backdrop of some dubious refereeing and a hostile home crowd. “We just silenced them,” said Jennings, who is an ambassador for the IFA’s grassroots programme with McDonalds.

“We had to play for 30 minutes with ten men after a red card for Mal Donaghy, who’d never been in trouble in his life, but we saw it through and there was a lot of singing in the dressing room. The press had been reporting that we’d been partying all the way through the tournament, which was not true, but we certainly had a party that night.”

Decisions still went against Bingham’s side as they eventually went out, beaten 4-1 by the great France side of Michel Platini, Jean Tigana and Alain Giresse. “We had an early goal from Martin O’Neill ruled out, and I wonder what might have happened if it had been allowed. But we were out, and when we got back home, the reaction was amazing. When you are at a tournament you’re not really aware of what is going on around you or the reaction back home. But I went back for six weeks’ holiday and everywhere I went people would break into applause and congratulate me.”

Can it happen again this month? “You have to say they are real outsiders, and just getting through the group stages will be an achievement. For such a tiny country to qualify against all odds is remarkable, and to finish top of their group was outstanding. Michael O’Neill has done a superb job since he became coach, and he has got the best out of a group of players who mostly play outside the Premier League. Kyle Lafferty is a case in point – he scored goals freely in qualifying, but could not get into a Norwich City side that were relegated and desperately in needs of a goalscorer. “I’d say Northern Ireland will need to show the same sort of teamwork and spirit that Leicester have done in winning the Premier League.”

Northern Ireland may not have any stars now, but it was different in the 60s and 70s when Jennings played — and roomed — with the late, great George Best. The pair made their international debuts together before becoming world-class players, and Jennings rates Best as one of the greatest players of all-time.

“He still stands up as one of world football’s all-time greats. He had it all and did everything a yard quicker than anyone else. He was unbelievably fast off the mark, had incredibly quick feet, could score with both feet and his head, and was really brave. If someone kicked him down, he would get the ball back and run at them again. He was like Lionel Messi – he was that good. He’d even take the gloves off me in training and dive about brilliantly in goal.”

The George Best legend is of a playboy who wasted his talent and died an alcoholic, prematurely young ten years ago. But Jennings remembers happier days. “He didn’t drink more than anyone else in the early days. He might turn up late for training or meetings, but we’d forgive him that because he was so brilliant, and he could add 10,000 to the gate.”

Jennings believes Best’s problems really began when United were relegated in 1974, when he was at his peak. “It was hard to take, going from European Champions to second division football in a few short years. A measure of how good he could have been came in 1977, when he had been playing in America for a while. We played the great Netherlands side that went on to be runners-up in the 1978 World Cup, and George ran the game that night – he was by far the best player on the pitch. The biggest tragedy for me is that George won only won 37 caps for his country and never played in a World Cup.”

Jennings also played with another great player who battled alcoholism — Jimmy Greaves. “Greavesie was the greatest goalscorer I ever saw. His record speaks for itself at every level, for Chelsea, Spurs and England. No-one will ever better his strike rate.”

The great white hope for Spurs and England now is Harry Kane, whom Jennings has known longer than most. “I used to see Harry in training as a kid and you could see he had it all and was a great finisher. The way he has come through in the past two years has surprised a lot of people, but we could see then he was determined to succeed, to improve and work hard. He never stops running, closing down opponents and the supporters love that — as well as his goals.”

The injury doubts about Lafferty are a cause for concern for the Northern Irish, as the striker bids to get fit in time for their opening game this weekend. Jennings knows all about it, having himself been doubtful all the way up to the beginning of both the 1982 and 1986 World Cups.

In the first case, he had been injured in January, while playing for Arsenal against his former team Spurs in the FA Cup, and spent so much time sidelined that manager Billy Bingham gave him an ultimatum — ‘prove your fitness or you’re out.’

“I was at Arsenal, having been let go by Spurs in 1977 because they thought I was getting past it! Yet I went on to play eight years at Arsenal, and they were great times, too. But early in 1982 I injured my groin, and struggled to shake it off. I played half a game for Northern Ireland in May and Billy Bingham told me I had a month to get fully fit or else. So I was in a bit of a panic, to say the least, but thankfully made it.”

In 1986, Jennings had been released by Arsenal the previous summer. Having considered himself fit enough to play on, and with the Mexico finals in his sights, he continued to play for Northern Ireland and rejoined Tottenham briefly – and then Everton.

“Peter Shreeves was the manager of Spurs and said they needed cover, so I joined up at the start of the season and just played the one game, against Chelsea. I did alright and stayed on as back-up keeper, playing in the reserves. But towards the end of the season, I left Spurs and went back to Ireland to do some promotional work for a supermarket.

“I didn’t realise that Howard Kendall wanted me as back-up at Everton, because Neville Southall had got injured. Howard was ringing up the stores, only to be told I had moved on to the next one. Eventually I flew back to England and there was Howard waiting for me at the airport. He grabbed by the arm and I said: ‘I need you’ and that was it. I was off to Everton, sat on the bench when they played Liverpool in the FA Cup, and though I didn’t play a first-team game, technically I was an Everton player when I went to Mexico.”

His club loyalties have always been towards Tottenham, though, and as well as coaching the keepers, he has a lounge named after him at White Hart Lane. It is a similar story with Northern Ireland, where he is an ambassador for the IFA, who have honoured him with a lounge at Windsor Park.

After watching Spurs miss out on the Premier League, he hopes his country can do him proud in France this summer.