Walters raring to go

Striker Jon Walters feels “blessed” as he prepares to launch himself into Euro 2012 battle.

The 28-year-old Stoke frontman is one of 20 players within Ireland’s 23-man squad who has not kicked a ball in the finals of a major tournament, but that situation for many will be remedied on Sunday evening when they open their Group C campaign against Croatia in Poznan.

With manager Giovanni Trapattoni having indicated he is likely to start with skipper Robbie Keane and Kevin Doyle in attack – just as he did in Monday night’s friendly draw in Hungary – Walters may have to wait for his opportunity.

However, he knows the chance which lies ahead for him is one some players will never have.

Walters, who arrived in Poland with his team-mates during he early hours of yesterday morning, said: “These are the moments you have got to enjoy.

“There are some top players who never get the chance to be in a major tournament, so to be here, I feel very blessed and very privileged.

“It’s been a long couple of weeks and everyone wanted to get going and get here. You want to come through injury-free, yet you want to play to your full potential in the games and get ready.

“Now we are here, it’s going to be building up now to the first game. I am sure as each day goes along, it is going to be busier and busier.”

Trapattoni last night moved to ease some of the workload on his players by cancelling interviews which had been pencilled in for today.

The bulk of the squad will have been together for a full three weeks by the time the whistle sounds to mark the start of the Croatia game with Malahide, Montecatini and Budapest having provided a series of different backdrops for Trapattoni and his players.

Keane is convinced the secret is to stay calm and not get too excited, although Walters acknowledges that can be a challenge at times.

He said: “Yes, it is, but there is a lot of down-time you have got to deal with.

“A lot of the boys have got their iPads and the films ready to go, and we have got the pool and the darts and things like that, and everyone mixes in and out of everyone’s room.

“You just keep on top of things. You have just got to keep calm and wait for it to get started.”

Walters, like several of his team-mates, was unaware that Trapattoni had already effectively named his team for the Sunday’s game, but insists it will make no difference to his own preparations.

He said: “I didn’t know he had named his XI and said it was for next week until a minute ago.

“As a young boy, I was brought up to believe if you are on the bench, you have got to prepare as if you were starting the game because 30 seconds or a minute in, you could get a bad injury to one of the strikers and you could be on."