THE MALAHIDE JURY is still divided on the question of whether Ireland’s Euro 2016 qualifier against Scotland is a must-win, or simply a must-not-lose.
Either way, with just four games remaining on the road to France after Saturday, the stakes are high for Scotland — and higher again for the Boys in Green.
A sold-out Aviva Stadium will only add to the intensity but Roy Keane believes that Ireland have the experience to handle the pressure of an evening when they can ill-afford to stumble again.
“These boys know the score,” the Ireland assistant said after training on Thursday.
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“They’ve been around the block a few times like Martin and myself and Seamus (McDonagh) and Wally and Gupps (Steve Walford and Steve Guppy).
“We’re not daft, you know? We know what’s at stake.
“Pressure is part of the game. These are the games you look forward to, absolutely.
We had a couple of friendlies last week, the North and England. Well and good, and they were decent games for us, but that was like the foreplay. The action starts on Saturday.
A win for Scotland on Saturday would take them five points clear of Ireland in Group D and, should Poland and Germany win against Georgia and Gibraltar as expected, Ireland would face an uphill battle just to make the play-off place.
Keane would not be drawn when asked about the worst-case scenario.
We’ll have that conversation. I’ll probably see you Saturday night. You’ll be looking for us, won’t you?
He insisted that Ireland would not lack the confidence to take the game to Scotland and, hopefully, show improvement on a campaign that has been marked by patchy performances to this point.
“We know that if we perform and at crucial moments put the right ball in… obviously if you don’t score it’s very hard to win any game.
“You respect every team you’re playing but we’ve got some good players. Scotland have. I don’t think there’s much between us.
Hopefully on the day we’ll have one or two players who’ll produce that bit of quality, or sometimes a bit of luck. That would be ok as well.
“In football, you always think that there’s areas to improve on even if you get a good result.
“The mixture we have with some senior and experienced players, and obviously young players like Seamus (Coleman) and Robbie (Brady) and the Jeff Hendricks of this world, hopefully they’ll step up and do the business.”
Roy's finished with the 'foreplay' and ready for serious business
THE MALAHIDE JURY is still divided on the question of whether Ireland’s Euro 2016 qualifier against Scotland is a must-win, or simply a must-not-lose.
Either way, with just four games remaining on the road to France after Saturday, the stakes are high for Scotland — and higher again for the Boys in Green.
A sold-out Aviva Stadium will only add to the intensity but Roy Keane believes that Ireland have the experience to handle the pressure of an evening when they can ill-afford to stumble again.
“These boys know the score,” the Ireland assistant said after training on Thursday.
“They’ve been around the block a few times like Martin and myself and Seamus (McDonagh) and Wally and Gupps (Steve Walford and Steve Guppy).
“We’re not daft, you know? We know what’s at stake.
“Pressure is part of the game. These are the games you look forward to, absolutely.
A win for Scotland on Saturday would take them five points clear of Ireland in Group D and, should Poland and Germany win against Georgia and Gibraltar as expected, Ireland would face an uphill battle just to make the play-off place.
Keane would not be drawn when asked about the worst-case scenario.
He insisted that Ireland would not lack the confidence to take the game to Scotland and, hopefully, show improvement on a campaign that has been marked by patchy performances to this point.
“We know that if we perform and at crucial moments put the right ball in… obviously if you don’t score it’s very hard to win any game.
“You respect every team you’re playing but we’ve got some good players. Scotland have. I don’t think there’s much between us.
“In football, you always think that there’s areas to improve on even if you get a good result.
“The mixture we have with some senior and experienced players, and obviously young players like Seamus (Coleman) and Robbie (Brady) and the Jeff Hendricks of this world, hopefully they’ll step up and do the business.”
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COYBIG Iresco it's business time Roy Keane Ireland Republic Scotland