MARTIN O’NEILL DEFENDED the lack of League of Ireland players in his current squad at a press conference to announce the 36-man panel on Tuesday.
Dundalk winger Michael Duffy, once a youngster at Celtic, is likely to be rewarded with international recognition imminently. The 24-year-old is waiting on the necessary paperwork to be completed to confirm his switch from Northern Ireland, who he has represented at underage level, to the Republic.
However, some critics have suggested more domestic-based players deserve to be included in the Boys in Green’s squad, with Dundalk midfielder Patrick McEleney one of the names mentioned as O’Neill was asked the question.
The Derry native, however, elaborated on his decision-making process, and perhaps with McEleney’s brief Oldham stint among other instances in mind, suggested players who struggle to make an impact in English football before promptly returning to Ireland were unlikely to be looked upon too favourably.
“I think, more than any other Irish international manager, I’ve incorporated the League of Ireland very strongly,” he said. “I’ve brought players through. Young [Graham] Burke was the first one in [40 years] to score a goal [for Ireland]. I think, on the strength of that, he got a move to Preston and got back in again.
“I’m not an agent for all these particular players, that’s not my job, my job is to be impressed by players at the end of it all.
Some players have gone over to England, and for one reason or another, have not come through. It’s not that they haven’t come through in the Premier League, they haven’t come through some of the lower levels and then you have to ask the question: ‘What is it?’ Is it something in their makeup? Did they not get on with their manager? It could be a combination of all these particular things.”
He continued: “When someone goes over to England and comes back to Ireland quickly, it’s not the perfect recipe for international football and trying to win games. So I do incorporate players from the League of Ireland. I go to a lot of matches too. I see a lot of games. Sometimes, as was the case with young [Sean] Maguire, when I saw him playing for Cork [in the 2016 FAI Cup final], he didn’t play all that well in the game.
“Sometimes I have to go: ‘Look, it’s nice to see him doing well, he has a bit of something,’ which you could feel he has, but you have to step up. So that’s the case with a lot of players here — a lot of skillful players. Young Duffy is as skillful as any player you’re likely to see playing in the League of Ireland, he’s got really good ability.
“It would be nice to see [Duffy] coming through and incorporating him, I didn’t just ask him did he fancy coming over. Hopefully he can do it, and I think he’s got a chance, but some players have to do a little bit more.
“Playing at the highest level — the Premier League, the Bundesliga, La Liga or Serie A, those are the leagues, and then there are the leagues below them, so players have a lot of work to do. Just because someone does alright in one game doesn’t mean they’re an international player, regardless of what people think.”
O’Neill was also asked about the ongoing debate surrounding Ireland’s style of play. In the past, Richard Dunne and others suggested playing in a direct fashion is part of Irish football’s “DNA,” whereas Dundalk boss Stephen Kenny has been among the people to reject these claims.
The 66-year-old coach, meanwhile, acknowledged that long-ball football has been Ireland’s primary style for decades, while expressing hope that a possession-based game could be developed in the future.
“Even Roy Keane and Robbie Keane, speaking to them both, fantastic footballers, who’ve said it’s always been a case with Ireland where no matter how many good players you might have, they always played that sort of way.
Not every side is capable of playing in a manner in which Barcelona and Real Madrid play, but like everything else, hopefully that will change maybe in the next number of years [with Irish] sides getting it down, playing it and being very comfortable with it. I think that’s something over time that will surely have to be a good thing.
“To try to win football matches too, that’s the idea. Ireland haven’t qualified for too many competitions since the World Cup that time and the European Championships. It can’t all be about the style of play, it has to be players, it has to be a lot of things, so there’s a big mixture of everything.”
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There not good enough,we bemoan our players play in the championship and on the other hand want league of Ireland players included,a joke!remind me again how Richie Towell got on in Brighton.O’Neill is dead right on this one
@Paddy Moran: Towell was injured since he moved to Brighton. Giving the likes of Christie a game is a joke. He’s useless. There is massive jump wgen you get to the likes of Man City. But apart from the top six, English football isn’t that high a standard. MON out.
@Paddy Moran: sorry but that’s utter drivel. Il explain why. A bulk of performance is actually in form and regular play. it has nearly fk all to do with what emblem is on the chest of your jersey. If you are not picking in form players . Players that are really regular in their squad. Playing without barriers and enjoying their game then you are not managing a team effectively. Choosing players based on their name. Their perceived past performances. Or because they are on the squad list for a big name club never works. It hasn’t worked anywhere else and won’t work here. The competition for the bench on teams is what drives success. Anyone arguing against that hasn’t got a clue about competitive sports
@JustOneScoop: will
@Paddy Moran: anyone who argues against competition from the bench hasn’t a clue about competitive sport,that’s not the point I made is it,that’s common sense that a good squad/bench drives the standards,My point is media drive this narrative of picking LOI players which is a lesser standard than the championship which they use to slate MON etc,the team is shite and play shite football and no LOI player will change that,
@Paddy Moran: how many championship players taste success? How many championship players play against European opposition on a regular basis? Very few if any. The top LOI clubs / players can say they’ve experienced both. You’ve also used 1 example of a player who has struggled with injuries, plenty of success stories.
@JustOneScoop: and you are qualified to state this how????
@David Linehan: I’d argue that the championship lads are at an advantage as the play with and against internationals week in week out.Theres only about 3 or 4 internationals in the entire LOI if even.
@JustOneScoop: That’s ridiculous. The level you play at and the quality of player you come up against weekly has an absolutely huge bearing on your ability to play international football. That’s why Cork City and Dundalk players look terrific domestically but then couldn’t put two passes together in Europe this season.
@Mike: spot on
A Steven Kenny Loi 11 would run rings around the international team.
They should do that, great idea
@Colm K: give your head a rattle
Thanks for euro 2016 just Go now Martin and take roy with yeah.
Towell got injured in pre season of his first full season which really hampered him. He is playing every week at the moment in the Championship which is more than can be said for most of O’Neills squad.
MON and others here go on about not a high enough quality league however his teams go to play countries such as Estonia, etc whose national team are dominated by players from their domestic leagues and Ireland concede 70% possession to them. Why cant Ireland with players from better leagues dominate possession against these teams?
MON is a huge fan of Duffy yet he failed with Celtic, same story as Hoban and Fats, yet why the distinction between those players?
We have no one upfront who can score or hold the ball up well yet he wont have Hoban in an extended squad to even look at.
Madness to think LOI players are ready for the national team.
@Stanley Baggins: why is it? Some of the Icelandic team play in their domestic league, countless other countries below Ireland’s ratings have players from their domestic leagues and totally dominate possession against us.
Dundalk’s European performances showed that LOI can match teams from higher leagues (also showed that small mistakes get punished to a much higher %).
No one is saying there should be loads of LOI players but there are obvious deficiencies in our national team and we have a LOI that can play a possession game which suits international games.
@Stanley Baggins: but some lad whos never played a senior game from liverpool is?
@Dundalk FC Sydney: Icelands last match, not one of the starting 11 or the 2 subs used play in Icelandic league. If you look at most recent squad in total even there was only one Icelandic based player and he had only just moved back to an Icelandic team and has 80 plus caps. So that argument doesn’t hold any weight.
@Dundalk FC Sydney: the reason the Iceland side are so successful is their system. They know their limitations because of a lack of talent. It’s very compact and rigid. Based on not getting pulled out of position and when they do have the ball getting it forward quickly to a strong player to hold it up. ie quite a lot of long balls.
MON gets utterly slated for the football he employs, if he was using the tactics that the Iceland team are deploying the fans would be even more up in arms.
@Dundalk FC Sydney: Because the LOI is a dysfunctional league, now the problem here is totally with the FAI. However the standered via other European countries our size and smaller is well below the curve. Take out one team Dundalk and the league gets worse add Cork to this and it is a joke shop and that is reality. You mentioned Iceland, they have a progressive FA that is very transparent in how it reinvests and runs its soccer. Here we have mediocrity, patronage and corruption in how the sport is administered and planned, sorry there is no planning. This has forever been the case and is the reason the LOI is dysfunctional (just look at the financial health or lack of with the majority of clubs) below par and in its present form no proper fit for international soccer.
@Dundalk FC Sydney: The League of Ireland is about the equivalent standard to League Two or even National League so there is absolutely no way we should be calling players up willy nilly to the national side at this level.if a player does well at this level let them get a move abroad and prove themselves at least at championship level.
@Aidan Crowley: national league? Not a chance. Maybe go to a few games
@Stanley Baggins: madness to think some people still think whether a player plays in League of Ireland or League One matters. It used to be the premiership was the holy grail, now its league one. Kenny is dead right. And nobody is asking for Ireland to play like Barcelona. Such a straw man from O’Neill
@Dundalk FC Sydney: Iceland have technically better players than us
Martin have you ever thought to yourself that your not a perfect recipe for Ireland?
Depressing to read .
This joker is robbing a living
Spot on he is .
Players abroad are being watched day in day out by people who decide on they being up to scratch or not , the player might not meet the requirement to go further , ability, temperament , physicality , mentality etc .. all play a part . It’s not good enough that a guy plays five or six good matches in loi throughout the season .
@Tricksy: really! What makes you think that? We have professional teams in Ireland. The best players go to City and Dundalk atm. Why shouldn’t they get a game? Maguire was in great form for city. 4 weeks after getting the magic plane he was picked in the Irish squad. A serious blind spot by Irish managers.
Needs a system before he moans he hasn’t the players ,this is the same man who slaps the team sheet up on the wall an hour before KO . charlatan
Dundalk 2016 were better than Ireland have been for the last two years and they were chock full of LOI players.