Duff: O’Neill plays like Charlton and Jack’s a legend

He’s taken a lead role in developing a cultural shift for Irish football but Damien Duff won’t complain should Martin O’Neill’s old-fashioned approach propel the country to a first World Cup since 2002.

As one of the most gifted and successful players to emerge from this country, Duff is understandably conflicted by the current Ireland’s team ability to eke out results in the least eye-pleasing of methods.

The Ireland teams Duff featured in for 14 years up to Euro 2012 weren’t always underpinned by a stylish approach, especially during Giovanni Trapattoni’s reign, but the extent to which O’Neill’s gameplan has relied on direct combat is one of the recurring themes of the present regime.