WE WON’T BE CAUGHT COLD ON FRIDAY
FRIDAY night’s game will mark the end of four months hibernation for Martin O’neill’s Ireland squad, but he is confident they’ll come to life.
The Ireland squad will come together in Dublin today, and enjoy a full week’s preparation for the crunch World Cup qualifier.
Their last gathering was in November, when James Mcclean’s second half strike earned the win in Vienna that put Ireland top of the pile.
“If this game had been, let’s say a month after Austria, you can imagine the momentum that is being built on, so we’ve lost a bit of momentum because it was so long ago since November,” O’neill said. “But the players genuinely enjoy coming into the squad, and I think the players will soon get their minds around to it.
“I actually think they get enthused relatively quickly when they meet up with each other.”
O’neill is a master motivator, but he’ll also lean on senior squad members to help push the side forward, ready to peak for Wales.
“Some of the more vociferous players are good to have around the place and they create a bit of an atmosphere, but some of the lads who are pretty quiet, I think they end up joining in,” he said.
“By the time we’ve had our first training session done and the players are actually meeting up the players are into it.”