BRAVEHEART BRADY SOUNDS WAR CRY OVER IRISH SPIRIT

Danes won’t break our spirit... winning big games is what we do

THIS was as close as Robbie Brady will ever come to invoking the spirit of William Wallace.

Instead of war paint on a grizzly face and the wilds of Scotland surrounding him, the backdrop for the Republic of Ireland international was the Parken Stadium ahead of tonight’s World Cup playoff first leg.

The Dubliner was stern but courteous as opposed to ravenous for blood when it was put to him that the Danes were ready to break Ireland’s spirit in order to take an advantage to Dublin on Tuesday.

‘They can try,’ he said, letting the answer linger with just few seconds of silence for added effect. ‘We’re ready. We’ve done our homework and we’re prepared... It’s there for the taking for both sides.’

It wasn’t quite on the level of ‘they may take our lives but they’ll never take our freedom,’ but the intent was clear and his manager, Martin O’Neill, knows full well that he will need another Braveheart performance to ensure Aviva Stadium is a cauldron for the second leg.

‘I think there’s a good belief in the camp that maybe didn’t exist a couple of seasons ago,’ the Ireland manager began. ‘An inner selfbelief, it’s not one that is flaunted, an inner self belief that we can come out and compete. We know we must compete for everything at every given minute.’

Ireland were unbeaten away from home during five qualifying fixtures in Group D and were the only side to finish as runners-up that also managed to score in every game on their travels. Victories against Austria in Vienna and Wales in Cardiff ensure confidence levels are high, while the experience of play-off success over Bosnia-Herzegovina en route to Euro 2016 is also a major factor in confidence levels being high.

Brady struck a vital away goal in the fog of Zenica almost two years ago to the day — Friday, November 13.

‘I think over the last couple of years we’ve shown in big games what we’re capable of producing. The lads who were there a couple of years ago can use anything from that night,’ Brady continued. ‘To go in with the belief when you’re that close to a World Cup, it’s there for the taking for both sides. If we can take anything from that game, it will be belief.

‘It’s a different squad now, we’ve had a couple of senior players and a couple of head figures that have left. I think that, over the last couple of years, it’s been good to knit together, some of the new players coming in and showing we’ve got a strong group of players.

‘As for me, I was there a couple of years ago before the new lads came in, I’m just there to help them settle in and sort of bed in. Over the last couple of years, we’ve had some good results and we’ve had a decent campaign so far. Hopefully we can continue that.

‘We know Denmark have some fantastic players, it’s going to be a really tough game so I’m sure they are going to be prepared to the best of their capability and we will too. It has the makings of a good game. Hopefully it all goes well.’

O’Neill almost bristled when a local journalist put it to him that the Danes have more individual class in their squad compared to his group. He asked for the question to be repeated before providing a rebuke which finished with him turning to Brady and declaring: ‘And this young man to my left is pretty decent too.’

True, Brady has delivered moments of class for his country but this has been a disappointing campaign so far in terms of a contribution in the final third. The Burnley man hasn’t found the net and his set-pieces have not been up to the standard required.

The Dubliner has also missed two games through suspension — the first against Wales in Dublin after kicking the ball away during the 1-0 win over Austria, the second a harsh booking during the 1-0 defeat at home to Serbia which ruled him out of the penultimate clash against Moldova.

As a result, Brady is one of the few members of the likely starting XI not on a yellow card. The entire back five — Darren Randolph, Cyrus Christie, Shane Duffy, Ciaran Clark and Stephen Ward — midfielders Harry Arter, Glenn Whelan, James McClean and Aiden McGeady, as well as forwards Daryl Murphy and Shane Long are in danger of missing the second leg but Brady insisted that won’t come into anyone’s thinking.

‘There are a few going into the game on yellow cards. I don’t think you can concentrate too much on that. We’ve got a job to do, get that done first and foremost and go from there.

‘But hopefully we can avoid any more yellows. It would be helpful.’

Ireland will need discipline to make sure they win this battle, and the war.

‘There’s belief in the squad that didn’t exist a couple of seasons ago’