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Martin O’Neill
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INTERVIEW
here about somebody I haven't actually spoken to. I know Shay and I've spoken to him a number of times but that was before I took the job on.
By Padraig Conlon
I may be a million miles out of my ground because he may have no intention of coming back, but I certainly wouldn't discount it if I'd had that conversation and he was thinking about coming back.
Republic of Ireland manager Martin O Neill held his end of year press conference last month and InTallaght Magazine was there to hear the new gaffer’s thoughts and put a few questions of our own to him. What has been the main difference for you between club and international management? It was really strange after the Poland game because you say cheerio to the players, and then I don’t see them collectively until March. I felt that was really strange. It didn't really hit home for a day or two.
What have you been working on since then? I've been going to watch a lot of games to see the players in action for their clubs. You have a problem at times going to matches as you're not sure whether the player will be playing. You’re hoping that (Wes) Hoolohan might get on at some stage or might start the game but that is totally the manager’s prerogative. I would never ask the manager beforehand. As a club
manager, I wouldn't want a manager to ask me about my team. Going to Everton you can be fairly sure Seamus (Coleman) or James (McCarthy) will be involved. Stoke likewise one or two of the lads will always be playing. It's been very interesting.
Would you ever advise any of your players to think about moving clubs to enhance their international chances? Absolutely not, there was nothing that irritated me more as a club manager than to find out that a couple of my players who I had fallen out with were playing international football and the international manager said that they should move. I do not want to be running around telling Wes Hoolohan he should do this or that. He mightn't be playing regularly for Norwich this season but I thought he was
excellent for us against Latvia last month. I wouldn't not pick someone because they are not playing regularly for their club but it does make it easier to pick them if they are playing more regularly.
Have you spoken to the players since the Poland game? No I haven't and I’m not going to make a habit of talking to the players all the time, they have heavy club commitments at this time. Just let them get them out of the way.
Shay Given has recently said he would be interested in resuming his international career, what do you think about that? I would not discount that at all. I haven't spoken to Shay but I would like to at some stage, if he says 'I'm back' then we'll look into it. But I am having a conversation
What are your thoughts on the new 24 team format for the next European Championships? It’s nice to hear that some people have said that we’ve already qualified, it means that I can put my feet up and not worry about it! Ah no being serious it is important we get our ranking up so we are seeded second for the draw for the qualifiers in February. I must admit I didn’t know until John told me how important those particular things are. He mentioned some weeks ago how important it is to win certain friendlies. I thought it was only a friendly and it didn’t count but they do seem to count. I wasn’t aware of that.
Are you alarmed that we are now ranked so low? We are where we are, it’s been a disappointing year and we’ve dropped from 41 to 67; that’s where we stand. Do I want to improve it? Obviously I do. Are you going to improve it by winning some matches? Yes. Do I always want to take the easy option? I don’t think so. Do I want to get absolutely thrashed in some matches, with resulting