Whelan believes in the Italian way for Republic

Republic of Ireland midfielder Glenn Whelan knows which manager he would rather be playing for on Saturday in the World Cup play-off as he lauded Giovanni Trapattoni’s Italian system of being hard to beat.

The Stoke midfielder said of the Republic of Ireland coach: “Maybe it’s an Italian thing making teams hard to beat and we have gone unbeaten in the group. That’s something we haven’t done in a long time, so on Saturday and Wednesday they are going to be difficult games for the French.

Whelan thinks that their recent draw against World champions Italy will help them cope with the pressure of the play-offs.

He said: “After the Italy game, everybody felt it was like a defeat which goes to show how much we have improved.

“Obviously the French will be aware of what we have achieved also.”

On France’s performance in the World Cup group campaign, Whelan thought that the French would be disappointed that they didn’t top their group.

“I think there will be a bit of pressure on them after not topping their group and maybe we are the underdogs which could be a good thing.”

Listen to more as Whelan talks to Breakingnews.ie head sports reporter Shaun Cronin and the assembled media about the World Cup play-off.