FEAR OF THE DROP
Ireland’s Premier League stars in survival mode at every turn...
SEVEN Republic of Ireland players. Six clubs. Three relegation places.
No matter how you dress it up, there were will be Irish casualties in the Premier League battle to avoid the trapdoor into the Championship.
For the national team, it’s not an ideal scenario.
Every Ireland manager, including the incoming one, benefits more from selecting players who are operating at the highest level for their clubs.
Ahead of the friendly games against Belgium and Switzerland, there are nine English top-flight players in the squad.
By the time of the next raft of friendlies in June, some of the seven Premier League players currently in the lower reaches of the division will have experienced
“There’s no getting away from the pressure”
relegation. Right now, all are in fear of the drop.
In the table order are: Brentford’s Nathan Collins (15th), Everton’s Séamus Coleman (16th), Luton’s Chiedozie Ogbene (17th), Nottingham Forest’s Andrew Omobamidele (18th), with Burnley’s Darragh O’Shea and Josh Cullen 19th.
Sheffield United, the home of John Egan, are 20th and seemingly doomed, although the warrior captain could return from injury to play a part in things in the final weeks.
In spite of the lowly positions, some joyful joshing is keeping spirits up — whether it can do the same for some of the clubs involved remains to be seen.
‘There’s a bit of banter flying about,’ admitted Nathan Collins, who always seems in chipper form. ‘I was giving Andrew (Omobamidele) some stick about his points’ deduction but he’s taking it well and given me stick. That’s natural and normal,’ he said.
‘Myself and Séamie (Coleman) have been in the relegation fight for three years in a row. We joke about that.
‘Football is so hard and it can change in a few games. We’re here together as a team, we’re Ireland but when go back to our clubs we can be enemies again.’
Coleman is deep into another scrap to preserve the proud topflight status of Everton.
Frank Lampard in 2022 and Sean Dyche in 2023 each hailed Coleman’s contributions on and off the pitch as Everton inched their way away from the quicksand.
While currently out of the team under Dyche, Coleman is willing to stand up and be counted again at a moment’s notice.
‘I’m captain of the football club, and the pressure that’s there, it’s been tough at the club, there’s no getting away from that,’ he said.
‘We are where we are in the league, everyone knows all the other stuff that’s going on outside it.
‘We’ve got 10 games to go in the league. We’ve got to fully focus on what we can do as players on the pitch, what we can do as players in the dressing room to make sure that we stay together because we’ve been there for a couple of years unfortunately.
‘I’m a strong believer that the
group that stays together the most, sticks together, fights together will be okay.’
Everton have shipped six points for breaching FA Premier League spending rules, which has made their survival in England’s lucrative top tier that bit more precarious.
Forest have joined them in the ‘dock’, having had four points clipped off their total at the start of the week for a similar spending transgression.
‘It’s tough yeah, especially getting the news when we’re not together as a team,’ said Omobamidele, who has knuckled down to win his place under Nuno Espirito Santo. What’s Nuno asking of him? ‘I think it’s more just opportunities with Nuno. For me, during that first five, six months, obviously I can get frustrated but when I come into training every day I’m 100 per cent at it.
‘He’s given me that opportunity and every time he continues too, I’m going to try my best to take it.
‘Regardless of what position you’re in in the Premier League, you’re going to be tested defensively because of the calibre of the league.
‘Each game I play I am gaining more experience and playing against good players every week, you have to get better,’ said Omobamidele who singled out Luis Diaz of Liverpool as his trickiest opponent this season.
Omobamidele and Collins are close on and off the pitch — they could be in defensive harness tomorrow against Belgium.
‘Me and Nathan have a lot of conversations, we are from the same area, so I talk to him regularly.
‘We bounce things off each other regarding games and the relegation battle as well. It’s all about experience and how quick you can get it and how fast you can develop and adapt.’
Asked to assess his own club season so far, Collins didn’t duck or dive.
‘It’s been tough,’ he said. ‘We’ve had a lot of setbacks as a team, a lot of injuries, a few ups and downs personally but I think I’ve grown again as a player and a person. I’m really enjoying it.
The towering defender says he doesn’t feel the burden of expectation that comes with the tag of being Ireland’s most expensive player — not just once, but twice.
‘I don’t really notice it to be fair. As much as it’s a price tag, there have been a lot more players out there more expensive than me so it doesn’t matter.
‘I just want to play football, I want to be consistent and keep getting better.’
For the moment, Premier League permutations are shelved as the international stage commands the full focus.
‘I want to do everything I can for Ireland. I want to captain Ireland. Every game we play is about winning, no matter what it is,’ said Collins.
‘As much as it’s experience for the lads and good for them to be in the group, at the end of the day we need to win games.’
Whether it is club or country, winning always matters.
“It’s tough, we’ve had setbacks as a team”