Giggs laughs off Ireland unrest ahead of tussle
WITH a smile, Ryan Giggs delivered a sarcastic “nooo” when it was put to him that Roy Keane had fallen out with absent Ireland midfielder Harry Arter.
“I don’t believe it.”
The laughter was followed with compliments about his former Manchester United team-mate, with Giggs naturally reluctant to state that Ireland’s turbulent build-up to his first home match as Wales boss was music to his ears.
“I don’t know (the details), I’m not on the inside. All I can say is Keaney was a brilliant team-mate,” said Giggs. “I don’t think we ever fell out.
“As players we all kicked lumps out of each other during training games, whether it was the old guys against the young lads or the British lads against the foreigners, but we left it there.”
Revenge
Giggs has been quick to dismiss any talk of revenge given the recent history between Ireland and Wales.
He’s a newcomer to this scene and has a good relationship with Martin O’Neill and Keane.
They spent time together at the World Cup in the summer and also spoke about his new brief at the UEFA Nations League draw in Switzerland in January – just before they were landed in the same pot.
From his discussions with Keane, Giggs has been left with the impression that the Corkman will eventually return to management, after almost five years as an assistant.
“I think he’ll go back to management in time, but I know how much he enjoys the Irish job,” he said.
“I think it (Keane staying) is because of how much he enjoys working with Martin.”
Giggs said all the right things about Ireland in the build-up to a big night for his own managerial development, even though the visitors have been weakened by the loss of Arter, Declan Rice and James McClean to name just three.
He praised their away record under O’Neill, with Ireland’s last away defeat in a competitive match coming against Poland in October 2015.
“Ireland will fight,” he said. “And they’ve got quality as well. We know they have a team that is going to make it very difficult for us.”
Giggs does have a hard act to follow after a period of Welsh success under Chris Coleman, with the run to the Euro 2016 semi-finals the highlight.
He is looking forward to getting stuck into a meaningful match.
“If it’s a new era I don’t know,” he shrugged. “You can do TV work which is great, but you miss being involved and preparing for games.
“I never got nervous as a player. As a manager it’s maybe a bit different, with a lot of things going through your mind.”