EAMON DUNPHY HAS praised Ireland’s display in the 1-0 defeat of Austria and feels that only now has Martin O’Neill started to play “the best players in the team”.
Speaking on 2fm’s Game On, Dunphy was full of praise for some of those who stood out on Saturday, but feels James McCarthy and Glenn Whelan’s time as automatic starters should come to an end.
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“Don’t forget that James McClean didn’t start at the Euros, which was only four months ago, and is only now starting,” the RTÉ pundit said. “Wes Hoolahan wasn’t a starter, he is now. Harry Arter is new.
We have been playing with nine men for the last eight years because Whelan and McCarthy don’t turn up, ever.
“There is no mystery about why our results have improved. We wouldn’t have won in Moldova without Hoolahan. We wouldn’t have won in Austria without Hoolahan, McClean and Meyler.
There is no way Whelan and McCarthy would have been where Meyler was, there’s no way they would have won the ball and there’s no way they would have delivered the pass.”
Dunphy also expressed reservations about the decision to pick Shane Duffy and Ciaran Clark as the centre-back pairing, calling for the more experienced John O’Shea to be brought back into the side.
I think if John O’Shea is fit and playing for Sunderland he should be in the team at the expense of one or the other,” he added.
“They’re both good lads — terrific lads — but they’re both a bit rash, and as a partnership, they’re unproven.
“(O’Shea’s) got that massive experience and you need leadership in your back four. Whether Duffy and Clark can gel as a partnership, I’d still be very skeptical. Clark is very rash and Duffy — that goal we conceded against Moldova would haunt me. If you’re playing against top teams and that’s the partnership, you may pay the price.”
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'We have been playing with nine men for the last eight years'
EAMON DUNPHY HAS praised Ireland’s display in the 1-0 defeat of Austria and feels that only now has Martin O’Neill started to play “the best players in the team”.
Speaking on 2fm’s Game On, Dunphy was full of praise for some of those who stood out on Saturday, but feels James McCarthy and Glenn Whelan’s time as automatic starters should come to an end.
“Don’t forget that James McClean didn’t start at the Euros, which was only four months ago, and is only now starting,” the RTÉ pundit said. “Wes Hoolahan wasn’t a starter, he is now. Harry Arter is new.
“There is no mystery about why our results have improved. We wouldn’t have won in Moldova without Hoolahan. We wouldn’t have won in Austria without Hoolahan, McClean and Meyler.
Dunphy also expressed reservations about the decision to pick Shane Duffy and Ciaran Clark as the centre-back pairing, calling for the more experienced John O’Shea to be brought back into the side.
“They’re both good lads — terrific lads — but they’re both a bit rash, and as a partnership, they’re unproven.
“(O’Shea’s) got that massive experience and you need leadership in your back four. Whether Duffy and Clark can gel as a partnership, I’d still be very skeptical. Clark is very rash and Duffy — that goal we conceded against Moldova would haunt me. If you’re playing against top teams and that’s the partnership, you may pay the price.”
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