WALT A LOAD OF RUBBISH
Striker warns: Another dire display will kill our World Cup dream
JON WALTERS has landed plenty of knock-out blows in a green shirt.
And he pulled no punches when he spelled out what is on the line for Ireland as they bid to rescue their stuttering World Cup push after a bitterly disappointing draw in Georgia
The Burnley striker said there were few positives to draw from Saturday’s result in Tbilisi where Ireland ‘didn’t lay a glove’ on Georgia and were blessed to emerge with a point.
But he is adamant Ireland cannot be that poor again and is confident they can put the woeful performance behind them to nab top spot in Group D.
Ireland have delivered big results against the bigger nations under Martin O’Neill – both in qualifying and at the Euro finals.
And Walters was talisman for a number of those games, performing heroics on the road to Euro 2016 and weighing in with the equaliser against Austria in June.
Leaving Tbilisi, boss Martin O’Neill (right) may have been clutching at straws when he said Ireland won the ‘chances created’ battle.
And, yes, had James McClean and Aiden McGeady been more clinical in the dying minutes there would have been a different spin put on the abject display.
But Walters, preparing for tomorrow’s visit to Dublin of Serbia, said: “They dominated possession but we created four chances and should have scored four.
“It’s a disappointing result but if we win tomorrow we’re top of the group. However the result has gone, if we win our last three games we’re there so it’s huge against Serbia.”
Eyeing improvement, Walters added: “Finish those chances and we’ll be alright.
“It’s tough, letting Georgia have possession. I was playing right of midfield and ended up playing right-back most of the game. It was similar for James McClean.
“We didn’t lay a glove on them but if we can keep possession a bit better we’ll be a lot better.
“But it’s easier saying it than doing it on the pitch.
“It’s going to be a difficult game but that’s why you’re in football – for games like this. If we win tomorrow, the result in Georgia is all forgotten about”
And Walters is confident that he can play two games in four days having missed most of Ireland’s training sessions last week. He injured his ankle in the League Cup clash with derby rivals Blackburn a fortnight ago and trained alone with the Irish physios until Thursday.
Asked if he suffered any setback against Georgia, Walters said: “No, just blisters. I’ll see how I react but I don’t see any problem.”
O’Neill will be sweating today that Walters comes through training unscathed as strikers are thin on the ground.
Shane Long started in Georgia and Daryl Murphy came on as sub but David McGoldrick ducked out of Georgia for personal reasons and it’s unclear if he is available tomorrow.
Both O’Neill and his assistant Roy Keane had strongly hinted that ex-Cork City striker and Preston star Sean Maguire would be the next front-man in line for an Irish call-up.