Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
UNITED MISS CELTIC MANAGER: MATCH AMBITION IRISH OR I WALK AWAY STAR
Neville: Just aren’t more Whelans or Mcgraths out there
IT’S two years since a player from the island of Ireland was in the Manchester United first team squad, a break in tradition that ended a continuous link that stretched back over 80 years.
For Gary Neville, that’s not just United’s problem. Nor is it Ireland’s, for that matter.
“This is a problem, full stop, in the Premier League,” said Neville. “You talk about Irish players but it’s the Welsh players, Northern Irish players, Scottish players that used to play for the top clubs.
“Dalglish, Souness, Hansen, Nicol. Ronnie Whelan and Paul Mcgrath. Great players who played for the top clubs in England.
“I can go through it now: Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Tottenham, Arsenal, Chelsea. How many Irish players are playing in those six teams?”.
The answer to that is obvious, and the former United and England defender turned Sky Sports pundit notes that it’s also an issue for Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland – and even England.
“Sir Alex Ferguson never had a 50-50 rule in the sense that half of the team had to be international and half the team had be home nations and Ireland,” said Neville, speaking in Dublin yesterday on the eve of the new Premier League season.
“But the principal around that was that we had five or six homegrown players and five or six international players – that to me feels like the right blend for an international league.
“La Liga is about 54 per cent, Germany is 60 per cent, I think we’re 32 per cent of English players now in the league. And most of those players are playing at West Brom and Burnley.
“They’re not playing at the top clubs. So, a lot of British and Irish players are not even playing in the Champions League anymore.
“So this is not a ‘soul of Manchester United is lost’ thing. There is a strong link with Ireland and Manchester United. There is no doubt about that.
“But which Irish player at this moment in time could play for Manchester United? Which Welsh, Northern Irish player?”.
Neville is adamant that the break of that link to this island hasn’t eroded any of United’s soul.
His reflection was timely given that also yesterday Roy Keane, at a press conference in Cork, announced the stellar list of former United stars who will be in Pairc Ui Chaoimh on Tuesday, September 25 to pay tribute to Liam Miller, inset.
Neville will be among their number as they support the family of
Liam, who played for the Red Devils between 2004 and ‘06, but tragically passed away at the age of 36 last February.
“Me and Ryan
(Giggs) were over at the World Cup and we were asked by Roy (Keane) to come and play,” explained Neville. “It didn’t take a moment to say yes. We have to play.
“One of the things about the spirit of Manchester United is that you support your team-mates.
“You don’t talk about players who are not at the club, you talk about players who are in the dressing room, and Liam was one of our players.
“He was a good man, a good player, it didn’t quite happen for him at Manchester United in terms of what he would have wanted to have done, but there’s no shame in that at all.
“I think it’s a privilege. We have to come over here and make sure that Liam Miller gets the tribute and the game he deserves and that the fans who come and watch have a great time. “It’s important that we do him justice because it’s really terrible what has happened.” BRENDAN RODGERS last night issued Celtic with an ultimatum that he won’t hang around if they don’t match his ambitions.
The Parkhead boss refused to roll back after voicing his frustration at the failure to get summer signings over the line after top target John Mcginn slipped through the net and joined Aston Villa.
Rodgers instead chose to hammer home his point and was adamant he won’t stop demanding backing from the board to take the club to the next level in Europe.
Celtic’s Champions League hopes are in the balance as they face a hazardous trip to AEK Athens next week following Wednesday’s 1-1 draw in Glasgow.
When asked if it would be over at Celtic if he stopped pushing for progress, he said: “Yeah. My job is done then. Terminado. Gone.
“But that’s the challenge. You have to test yourself to the limit. You have to be courageous as a club.
“It’s a joy to work here. I love my life here and enjoy being the manager here.
“But it’s no good if I just sit back and get comfortable. Being comfortable is the enemy of progress.”
Rodgers insisted there had been no fallout behind the scenes but having already admitted Celts are weaker this season, he delivered another clear message to the club’s powerbrokers.
He said: “Dermott (Desmond), Peter (Lawwell, inset) and Ian (Bankier) all want what is best for Celtic. Critically, they are major shareholders and run the club. I have to respect that, and I do.
“My ambition is for Celtic. Every manger is ambitious but for me it’s inherently about the club. We’ve done a double treble, been invincible in one of those seasons, set a British record for unbeaten games.
“We don’t want to stand still. How do we improve? We improve in Europe and in order to do that, it’s simple, is quality players.”