Darren Randolph: You never know if you are going to get back here again
Of all the players who collapsed to the turf at the Stade de Lyon, it was Randolph who took longest to recover his feet and only then after comforting words from Shay Given and Keiren Westwood.
Both of his goalkeeping colleagues, rivals for the jersey in the run-up to the tournament, offered a shoulder to cry on for Randolph as the tears flowed and the thought struck that this could actually be as good as it gets.
“We have seen all the videos that have been sent to us of the fans over here and the ones back home,” said the 29-year-old from Bray. “We are seeing all the fans there at the end too. You never know if you are going to get back here again.
“So it was definitely a case of taking it all in.”
Randolph’s fears may seem misplaced in the afterglow of Euro 2016 but sport is awash with examples of teams that have found such optimism worthless having failed to rediscover the means to reach previous peaks.
There is no guarantee Ireland will return to a major finals any time soon, as Martin O’Neill looks to a future where some familiar faces will fade away to be replaced by those with a more youthful complexion.
That regeneration process kicked through the gears here in France with veterans Shay Given, John O’Shea, Glenn Whelan and Robbie Keane all spending considerable time on the bench over the course of the four games.
Randolph was complimentary of all the senior pros but his relationship with Given is understandably stronger given the small numbers in the goalkeepers’ union and the time spent with both Westwood and the Donegal man.
“He has been phenomenal for Ireland. He has been a great servant. I had just stopped crying at the end and then I seen him crying. That set me off again. I had to walk away. He has been good to me. I have got nothing but good, positive things to say about him.”
Given is 40 now and with a limited amount of sand left in the hourglass that is his career and, though it is likely a handful of the others will also call time on their international days, the hope must be that they don’t all do so at once.
The loss of so much experience together wouldn’t be the ideal scenario and O’Neill will surely attempt to persuade one or two of the veterans to give even a year more to the cause.
“I’m not sure what’s going to happen,” said James McCarthy who, at 25 and with almost 40 caps, is one of those who will now need to accept more responsibility.
“We have a few experienced boys and a lot of people are saying ‘will they move on, will they not?’ Certainly we don’t want them to move on. We’re happy with them here and as much experience we can get in the team the better.”
O’Neill’s ability to evolve the team while increasing its competitiveness has been the standout feature of his tenure, which seemed doomed a year ago when Ireland’s qualification hopes hung by a tread.
The insertion of Shane Duffy into the side is the best example of that.
The Blackburn Rovers defender played no part in the campaign that secured the Republic’s berth in France and yet he emerged before and during it as a potential colossus at the heart of the defence even if improvement is required.
Overzealousness and inexperience got the better of the Derryman when caught out of position for the second French goal on Sunday, but his potential was obvious even on an afternoon which ended for him on seeing red.
“He’s always talking,” said McCarthy. “He’s a young boy coming in and he’s not scared to say what he thinks and rightly so.
“He’ll bounce back from this. He’s had a good campaign.
“The other night against Italy he was different class, he was different class here. He’s obviously got sent off but trust me he was different class. The sending off he couldn’t do anything about.”
That’s done with now. In the past.
Randolph, McCarthy and Duffy are part of the future.
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