Players speak up for McCarthy

Republic of Ireland captain Kenny Cunningham has backed under-fire manager Mick McCarthy and insisted: “We can still qualify for Euro 2004”.

Cunningham’s team face an uphill task after last night’s 2-1 defeat at home to Switzerland left them without a point from two games, and with plenty of ground to make up on both the Swiss – who have seven points from three games – and Russia, who have maximum points from two.

But the Birmingham defender said defiantly: “It is still possible we can qualify from this group. Of course it looks as if winning the group may be beyond us now, but we can fight for second place and that is still achievable for us.

“Switzerland have to play Russia at home and away, while we have to play Russia at home, and then we are more than capable of going to Switzerland and winning, so there is still everything to play for.

“Of course there is a lot of disappointment after this result but we owe it to ourselves and certainly to our supporters to pick ourselves up and try and ensure we give ourselves every chance of qualifying from this group.”

McCarthy is facing calls from some critics to quit his post after six-and-a-half years in charge, even though his record is still one of the best in international football. He insisted he would not walk away from the job and he has the full support of his skipper.

“Mick came into the dressing room after the game and although he was as disappointed as anyone else he was also very upbeat,” said Cunningham. “He always is. He thanked us for our work-rate and although we weren’t at our best I don’t think you can fault our commitment over the 90 minutes.

“You would have to have been a blind man not to notice all the bad press Mick got in the build-up to the game but it wasn’t as if we approached the game in a lacklustre manner and our work-rate and effort wasn’t up to standard. But although we gave our best it wasn’t good enough on this occasion.

“It was a huge disappointment because we had high hopes coming into the game and everybody was looking forward to our first result, so the reaction of the crowd when they booed us at the end was understandable.

“Expectations have been raised to such a level after the World Cup that the fans expect us to qualify for the European Championships, so we understand their frustration. It doesn’t help when you can hear the rumblings of the crowd, but it is something we have to cope with.”

Cunningham’s sentiments were echoed by Blackburn winger Damien Duff, Ireland’s best player on the night before coming off with a pulled hamstring towards the end. He also backed McCarthy.

He said: “The criticism of the manager is terrible. He has done brilliantly for the squad in the last few years, he got us to the World Cup finals and we did well there.

“For Mick to be getting stick two games into the qualifying campaign is dreadful. We shall all stand by him and do our best for him.

“We have given ourselves a mountain to climb but the lads in this squad are more than capable of doing it. We showed what we are capable of in the summer and we have a lot to live up to, but we have not lived up to it so far in these first two games.

“To have no points at this stage is devastating, but we can definitely still qualify because there is great spirit in the camp.”