JON WALTERS SAYS he’ll happily line out on the wing if that’s where Giovanni Trapattoni wants him for Friday night’s World Cup qualifier against Sweden.
Walters is part of the 23-man squad that flew out for Stockholm this afternoon but all the signs point to Trapattoni starting with Shane Long alongside Robbie Keane in attack.
That leaves Walters likely to be on the bench in the Friends Arena, where temperatures could drop as low as -10°C if the stadium roof is left open as per Trap’s wishes.
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With regular wide man Aiden McGeady ruled out with a knee injury, Robbie Brady and James McClean are set to form a fresh-faced double act on the wings.
But though he’s often seen as a more conventional striker, Walters plays a similar role behind Peter Crouch for his club and he’s ready to step up if the manager calls.
“I’ve been brought up as a striker but at Stoke it’s different, we play with one, generally a big one and everyone feeds off him,” Walters said after the squad’s final training session in Malahide today.
With Stoke over the last few years I’ve played probably 90% on the right or left of midfield so wherever he chooses to play me, I’ll be happy to do it.
There’s a lot of players and you can only pick a couple of them.
After bouncing back from the nightmare defeat against Germany with a win in the Faroe Islands, Ireland currently sit third in Group C, a point behind Sweden and two ahead of Austria who visit Dublin next Tuesday.
It’s still early but Walters knows that Friday night is the first part of a double-header that will define the rest of the qualification campaign.
“You’re going into the game full of hope. It’s always going to be difficult being the away team. You’ve got to keep the top, top players quiet and hopefully they’ll have an off night. I think the team always beats the individual and if we all pull together, we’ll get the result we need.”
He added: “I think if someone was going to give you four points before the two games, you’d probably take them and hope to beat Sweden at home. The group’s had lots of surprises. We went to Kazakhstan away and got a result there but other teams have found it difficult. There are a lot of twists and turns between now and the end of the group.”
Walters ready to be Trap's wingman if asked
JON WALTERS SAYS he’ll happily line out on the wing if that’s where Giovanni Trapattoni wants him for Friday night’s World Cup qualifier against Sweden.
Walters is part of the 23-man squad that flew out for Stockholm this afternoon but all the signs point to Trapattoni starting with Shane Long alongside Robbie Keane in attack.
That leaves Walters likely to be on the bench in the Friends Arena, where temperatures could drop as low as -10°C if the stadium roof is left open as per Trap’s wishes.
With regular wide man Aiden McGeady ruled out with a knee injury, Robbie Brady and James McClean are set to form a fresh-faced double act on the wings.
But though he’s often seen as a more conventional striker, Walters plays a similar role behind Peter Crouch for his club and he’s ready to step up if the manager calls.
“I’ve been brought up as a striker but at Stoke it’s different, we play with one, generally a big one and everyone feeds off him,” Walters said after the squad’s final training session in Malahide today.
After bouncing back from the nightmare defeat against Germany with a win in the Faroe Islands, Ireland currently sit third in Group C, a point behind Sweden and two ahead of Austria who visit Dublin next Tuesday.
It’s still early but Walters knows that Friday night is the first part of a double-header that will define the rest of the qualification campaign.
“You’re going into the game full of hope. It’s always going to be difficult being the away team. You’ve got to keep the top, top players quiet and hopefully they’ll have an off night. I think the team always beats the individual and if we all pull together, we’ll get the result we need.”
He added: “I think if someone was going to give you four points before the two games, you’d probably take them and hope to beat Sweden at home. The group’s had lots of surprises. We went to Kazakhstan away and got a result there but other teams have found it difficult. There are a lot of twists and turns between now and the end of the group.”
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