SHAMROCK ROVERS MANAGER Michael O’Neill is hopeful that the prospect of playing against Tottenham at White Hart Lane will not get to his players on Thursday night, and that they enjoy the experience.
The Hoops go to London on the back of an opening Group A 3-0 defeat to Rubin Kazan in Tallaght, where they conceded goals early in both halves to leaves themselves with the toughest of tasks.
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O’Neill has admitted that the fear of making mistakes may have got to his team against the Russian outfit and that the key to any potential upset against Harry Redknapp’s side is relaxation.
“I don’t particularly worry about (the pressure getting to Rovers) but you can only prepare team for what is ahead,” O’Neill told the press.
“Individually they have to be right in their head to play. Our message to the players has been to embrace these games. Not to fear it, to enjoy it, not to be frightened of making mistakes and to go and enhance their reputations as individuals and collectively as a team.”
While Tottenham will not play the likes of Gareth Bale, Emmanuel Adebayor and Scott Parker, there will still be a number of star names on show. Aaron Lennon, Roman Pavlyuchenko, Steven Pienaar and Vedran Corluka are all expected to take part.
“We have to focus on ourselves and that is what we have tended to do. I couldn’t second guess what team Tottenham will field tomorrow night,” added O’Neill.
“We anticipate that some of their real stars names will be saved until Sunday but we’ll face them players that have a point to prove.”
O'Neill: We need to enjoy White Hart Lane experience and not be intimidated
SHAMROCK ROVERS MANAGER Michael O’Neill is hopeful that the prospect of playing against Tottenham at White Hart Lane will not get to his players on Thursday night, and that they enjoy the experience.
The Hoops go to London on the back of an opening Group A 3-0 defeat to Rubin Kazan in Tallaght, where they conceded goals early in both halves to leaves themselves with the toughest of tasks.
O’Neill has admitted that the fear of making mistakes may have got to his team against the Russian outfit and that the key to any potential upset against Harry Redknapp’s side is relaxation.
“I don’t particularly worry about (the pressure getting to Rovers) but you can only prepare team for what is ahead,” O’Neill told the press.
“Individually they have to be right in their head to play. Our message to the players has been to embrace these games. Not to fear it, to enjoy it, not to be frightened of making mistakes and to go and enhance their reputations as individuals and collectively as a team.”
While Tottenham will not play the likes of Gareth Bale, Emmanuel Adebayor and Scott Parker, there will still be a number of star names on show. Aaron Lennon, Roman Pavlyuchenko, Steven Pienaar and Vedran Corluka are all expected to take part.
“We have to focus on ourselves and that is what we have tended to do. I couldn’t second guess what team Tottenham will field tomorrow night,” added O’Neill.
“We anticipate that some of their real stars names will be saved until Sunday but we’ll face them players that have a point to prove.”
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Hoop Dreams Michael O'Neill Shamrock Rovers Tottenham