PRE-SEASONS UNDER Antonio Conte at Tottenham appear to consist of less a series of training sessions than they do trials of ritual punishments. At an open session in South Korea in July, for instance players were sent on a series of pitch-length sprints until Troy Parrott was the last man standing, leaving team-mates including Harry Kane strewn on the ground, vomiting.
Asked if these sessions were as brutal as they looked, Matt Doherty was quick to agree. Doherty walked into the FAI press room at Abbottstown looking lean, to the point that one journalist asked him if he has lost weight.
“I shaved the side of my face down, it’s made me look slimmer!”
Doherty says Spurs will feel its benefits later in a season of unprecedented slog, though his personal experience has been one of frustration in the opening weeks. He has accumulated just 20 minutes off the bench for Spurs this season, playing against Marseille in the Champions League and Southampton in the Premier League. He has been a regular on the bench, though based on last weekend’s league win against Leicester, he is the third-choice right wing-back behind Emerson Royal and Ivan Perisic, who switched from the left to the right flank for that game.
He may rise up the pecking order, however, after this international window with Ireland. A knee injury in April cut short Doherty’s season after he had established himself as a regular under Conte, and forced him to miss the quartet of Nations League games in June. The effects of that knee injury lingered in the early weeks of pre-season.
“I feel pretty fit now”, said Doherty. “It probably took a little bit longer than expected. I was pretty much available all of pre-season but wasn’t moving that well. But to be honest, the last three or four weeks, I’ve felt back to where I was in training. So it did take a bit longer than I expected. But I’m happy to be fit again.
“I haven’t been frustrated. I understand where the manager is coming from, where he thought my fitness was, and he was right at the end of the day. I know that he trusts me, I know that once I’m back again, he knows what I can do for him and once he thinks I’m available, I’m sure he’ll give me more time.
“That’s exactly what he said: he wants me to come away [with Ireland] and try and get two games in. He said in his press conference that I would be available after the international break for selection. That’s kind of the plan, if Stephen obeys him!”
Kenny will likely stick to the plan. Doherty has been a key player for him throughout his reign, excelling at right wing-back and, occasionally, on the left. The player himself says he is fit to start both games, the lack of match minutes compensated by the brutality of pre-season.
Doherty’s absence was keenly felt in June, as Ireland’s ambitions of topping their Nations League group were instantly thwarted by back-to-back defeats to Armenia and Ukraine. They recovered, however, with a rousing 3-0 home win against Scotland, and signed off with a thrilling 1-1 draw with Ukraine in Lodz, Poland.
Doherty admitted he was “a bit nervous” before the Scotland game.
“But the lads played unbelievably well, kind of blew them away. I knew that it was a performance that they had in them. It was nice to finish the summer in the way that we did.”
Doherty has been one of Kenny’s best players and has also been one of his most strident supporters, insisting from the off that the team were going in the right direction under the manager. He remains consistent in that belief.
“Honestly I think the confidence is really high all the time. We get coached extremely well, our game plan is almost always spot on, so the confidence is there from the set-up we have, the belief that they give us. I think maybe at the start of the reign, when the manager first came in, he was trying to find confidence in players but since then, everyone has been on top form and ready to play for him.
“Of course, you’re always striving for consistency aren’t you. We want to win every game we play, we look at the fixtures that we have and we think that they are winnable games. I’m sure the other teams probably think the same. But I’m sure every other team is the same. But we know our game plan, we trust each other, the management, the players, all the staff we have belief and trust in each other. We’re going to try and win both games.”
The ultimate aim for this Irish squad and staff is qualification for Euro 2024 in Germany, and that is the benchmark against which the FAI will judge the manager. The qualifying draw will be made in Frankfurt next month, and Ireland are likely to be third seeds, barring two closing wins in the Nations League and a constellation of favourable results elsewhere. Seeding is determined by the Nations League, and the competition also offers a backdoor play-off to the Euros should Ireland need it.
“A lot of us are kind of at that age where there might not be that many more opportunities to kind of get back into a serious competition”, said Doherty of the squad’s Euros ambition. “Some of us have never been, including myself. We’re pretty focused. We’ve a set goal that we want to achieve. I think we’re capable. I know people might not think that’s the case. I feel like I know football. I know how good the players are, how much they listen to the manager. I think we are capable of achieving something, yes.
“I say it all the time, every single game, no one wants to lose. We want to go away to Scotland and beat them. We want to beat Armenia at home. We’ve not lost that many games in the last two years. We want to continue on a streak of not losing games. Every game is tough but no team is blowing us away. It’s always tough. If you look at Belgium, Portugal twice. We’re giving everyone a run for their money.”
Across a typically engaging press conference, Doherty let slip some advice he stashed away from his youth, on the importance of hard work.
“My dad always told me that no matter where you play that there is always someone watching you.”
Count Conte’s among the eyes trained on Ireland this week.
Just in response to the42.ie’s constant ads for Boyle Sports on their rugby articles, I’ll link to the news story of their parent site. The question…will they remove a comment that links to an article on their own parent site outlining Ireland problem gambling, or will they just ignore the fact that they are openly advertising gambling at the same time they are also reporting the harms of gambling?
https://www.thejournal.ie/130k-people-in-ireland-have-a-gambling-addiction-as-new-bill-aims-to-regulate-the-industry-6186839-Oct2023/
#WhEnThEfUnStOpS
@JoeVlogs: Spin that wheel baby!!
@JoeVlogs: Such is the dialethics of life. How do they make money without advertising revenue? Betting, alcohol, etc. all no doubt cause a lot of harm (and arguably a great deal of joy too) but they pay, and people need money to survive, as capitalism evolves so too does our addiction to money. Like why does Soros need more? (because like most business people he’s addicted to accumulating wealth and power). How do we protect the smallest number of people who may be vulnerable to addiction while supporting the majority’s personal freedoms, you won find an answer
@JoeVlogs: ive a gambling issue to ads should be banned plus im a subscriber
Good man Tadhg Furlong, another vital cog in this Irish machine.
A proper attitude can bring you a long way! Massive respect to him
@Tony Metcalfe: I see what you did there
@Tony Metcalfe: it could bring you a couple of furlongs. But at the same time you only need one Furlong
Good to hear he is in good nick. He is a very important player but not as vital as Porter. Bealham was excellent in the 6ns and O’Toole was also reliable. If Porter were to get injured I would be quite apprehensive about the scrummaging ability of his replacements.
Struggling a lot for two years now. First man off the field in the Hcup final on 44 minutes. Man must be broke up. Glad to hear he’s feeling good.
But injuries are catching up he should be around for next world cup do legend