Former Republic of Ireland international Kevin Sheedy shares his memories of Jack Charlton

There was a lack of leadership at the helm of the team, but all that changed when Jack took over.

You can talk about tactics, formations and anything else you want, but having a man leading you from the front with clear directions that produced results is worth a million times more than any tactics board.

Jack didn’t mind upsetting someone if he had to and was happy to stand by a player if he felt he was right for his team. That clarity of thought, and his ability to make the big decisions, earned him the respect of the players.

He had to make big decisions, leave out some big name players and find a way to get all the pieces of his jigsaw to fit together — and he did it superbly.

Everyone had a role clearly defined, we were playing to our strengths and, from my perspective, he wanted me to play the way I did for Everton, which made my transition to international football very easy.

He knew that if we could get the ball into the areas where we could hurt the opposition, we had players in that dressing room who could damage any defence in world football.

All of us were playing for the top clubs in England at the time and he knew that if we could get the ball into the right areas, we could hurt any team in the world with the players we had in that squad.

We were experienced performers, playing European football on a regular basis with our club sides, and the tactics he deployed gave us the best chance to win matches.

Yes, it was a long-ball football, but an alternative view could be that it was brand of football that got the ball forward quickly, and relied on a high pressing game that is so prevalent in the game now.

Jack gave specific orders to his centre-back and they needed to get rid of the ball quickly. If they passed it to a midfielder and we lost the ball there, the defenders would get the rollicking because that is not what he wanted his defenders to do.

He wanted to make use of the world-class attacking fullbacks we had in the squad, with the likes of Steve Staunton, Denis Irwin and Chris Hughton providing great quality in those positions.

Then Jack was allowed to bring in John Aldridge and Ray Houghton at the start of his reign, who went on to be fantastic players for the Republic over the next decade, and got everyone playing with a confidence I had not seen until he arrived as manager.

The camaraderie Jack helped to generate was also crucial to our success. I was part of a great Everton side that had a bunch of lads that all got on great and it was more of the same, and possibly even better, with the Republic.

We had some great characters in that team, with Andy Townsend Aldridge and Tony Cascarino coming in and fully signing up to what Jack was trying to do and the results were there for all to see.

In addition, Jack knew he had to create a spirit and a bond among that group of players and that’s why he didn’t mind if we went out and had a few drinks when the time was right.

It wasn’t like we were getting drunk every day when we were away with the squad as that would never have worked, but we had a spirit amongst us that carried us through when the going got tough and Jack helped to generate that.

Everyone bought into what Jack was doing and when you looked around the dressing room and saw the amount of quality we had in there, it is little wonder that we felt we could beat anyone by the time we qualified for the Euro 88 finals.

That camaraderie still exists to this day and it was great to have the reunion with the majority of the squad at the K Club a couple of years back when I saw Jack for the last time.

He was struggling with his health and that was sad to see, but it was wonderful for his family to get a glimpse of what he meant to all of us and how respected he was for what he achieved with the Republic.

Jack was adored everywhere he went and the Irish people took him to their hearts, not just because he was getting results with the team.

They liked to see him fishing in Ireland, having a pint in local pubs around the country with fans — and not paying for too many of them, by all accounts.

It is always a sad day when we lose someone like Jack, but I hope it was some comfort to his family to see the tributes pouring and he deserved that.

If he is looking down on us now, I’m sure he’d love to see his Irish boys having a pint and celebrating what he helped to create and it would be great to do that soon.

One thing is for sure, whenever I hear the name Jack Charlton, it will bring a smile to my face and I’m absolutely sure I speak for all of the nation when I say that.