LAMPARD WARNING
HERO COLEMAN STILL HAS A LOT TO OFFER IRISH TEAM
the pace at Hampden Park.
He should have been called ashore at the break and I think the move for Scotland’s equaliser would have been stopped by Coleman.
Like Doherty, Coleman has been starved of minutes at club level too, but he looked in great nick when he came on.
We’ve seen with Coleman before that he has the bite to get up to speed straightaway.
Stephen Kenny has to start him against Armenia this evening.
Ireland are a better team with one of their leaders on board.
How much of a leader is Coleman? Well, the last four Everton managers have gone with him as captain.
Coleman has captained Ireland under Martin O’Neill, Mick McCarthy
THE PERFECT CHOICE: Stephen Kenny must start Ireland and Everton skipper Seamus Coleman tonight; the full-back with Toffees boss Frank Lampard
and Stephen Kenny.
One of the reasons why so many warm to him is his old school values.
He places great store in hard work, honesty and keeping your feet on the ground.
Coleman was the second oldest full-back to have played in the Premier League last season — he is 29 days younger than Erik Pieters of Burnley.
Hope
He will be the oldest full-back this term — but anyone who writes him off is foolish.
Coleman still has plenty to offer both club and country.
I hope that Kenny picks him ahead of Doherty and one other enforced change is needed as Josh Cullen is suspended.
ARMENIA will have no fear of Ireland. The win in Yerevan in June makes sure of that. It’s almost certain that they will get men behind the ball, look to soak up pressure and frustrate the home team, and then hope to nick something on the break. It’s a gameplan that can work out. We saw it work out with Ireland teams against better opposition in the past. When you’re up against opponents who play like that, patience is vital. Ireland don’t need to lead after 20 minutes, or at half-time, or at the hour mark. Winning at the final whistle is all that matters. Ireland have to keep doing the right things from first whistle to last. I think they will, and that will get them the win.
To me, this is a straightforward call. Jeff Hendrick has the experience and ability to step seamlessly into that midfield.
If you cast your minds back to the 1-0 defeat to Armenia in Yerevan, their winning goal was a shot from distance where midfielders had the chance to close down Eduard Spertsyan but didn’t.
Indeed, Ireland let Armenia — a very average outfit — have 10 shots on goal in that game.
Ireland need to put a lot more pressure on the visitors when they’re in possession, and that is something Hendrick really has to do. There have been times in the past when he’s been lacking, in this regard. I hope the lesson has been learned.
Ireland were unlucky against
Scotland. The performance deserved at least a point, but I wouldn’t be putting the boot into Kenny.
Group
Yes, he said Ireland want to win this group but they now find themselves in a relegation play-off. If that happened with Giovanni Trapattoni or Martin O’Neill, would we be so forgiving?
The big difference is that they were working with established players. Kenny went with eight Under-23s on Saturday. He’s had to build a new team with players who are learning the ropes — at club as well as international level.
That has to be kept in mind when assessing where Ireland are.
EVERTON boss Frank Lampard has told his men not to let their standards drop after recording their first win this term.
The 1-0 victory over West Ham before the international break followed four-successive draws and lifted the Toffees away from the bottom three.
Having only avoided relegation in their penultimate match last season, Lampard said: “We’ve now set a standard which means whoever comes into the team has to deliver defensively and make us hard to beat.
Chance
“If you’re hard to beat in this league, you give yourself a chance and we’ve shown that so far this season.”