Keeping faith with Randolph one of O’Neill’s big calls for Austria
Westwood testing O’Neill’s loyalty to regular Randolph
IT WAS TS Eliot who wrote of ‘decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.’
Martin O’Neill, a learned man, may recall that line from ‘The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock’ as he contemplates his team selection for Sunday’s World Cup showdown with Austria in Dublin.
From the disadvantage position of losing Seamus Coleman, Ciaran Clark, James McCarthy and Shane Long through injury, the Republic of Ireland manager is in a more comfortable place than he might have imagined a few weeks ago.
Rather than try and cobble a makeshift Irish XI together next Sunday, he has competition for places, and the available players are about as fit as he’d like them to be.
Crucially, they are all ‘buzzing’ after beating Uruguay 3-1 on Sunday.
For all that Luis Suarez was absent, the South Americans have won the World Cup twice and were semi-finalists in 2010 — they are a decent scalp to have on anyone’s CV.
The result will not have escaped the coffee houses of Vienna where there is growing pressure on national coach Marcel Koller.
O’Neill has the high ground again and his players sense it. They were up for the game on Sunday, clearly more comfortable in a 4-5-1 formation which has been productive under O’Neill.
Three goals from open play is a rare return for an honest crew of water-carriers who are ‘not going to destroy teams,’ as O’Neill observed.
As he surveys his players at the Aviva Stadium tomorrow (11am) for an open training session for fans, O’Neill will be thinking ahead 96 hours to the team he will send into battle.
‘There are positions to look at,’ he confirmed yesterday.
‘You start to think, “Can I slot someone in there? Can they do a job?”
‘It’s all on to the Austria game and I’m hoping there are players who are thinking, “Do you know what? I was pretty regular during the European Championship but maybe my position is in jeopardy now. I might not start this game”.’
O’Neill (right) has a number of calls to make, even if, privately, he has already made them. Chiefly, they involve goalkeeper, centrehalf, central midfield and attack.
Right now, seven players appear nailed on to start — Cyrus Christie, Shane Duffy, Stephen Ward, Jeff Hendrick, Robbie Brady, James McClean and Jon Walters.
After that, the guessing game begins.
Firstly, there is the goalkeeper situation. Darren Randolph, who holds the gloves, is in the spotlight for an error against Uruguay that cost a goal.
That Keiren Westwood, his halftime replacement, pulled off an athletic save when the score was 2-1 to Ireland, has generated calls for Westwood to start against Austria. Here’s O’Neill’s take on it. ‘I’ve been very pleased with both goalkeepers,’ he said.
‘Obviously, I knew Westy (Westwood) at club level and you know my view of Westy, he’s a really talented goalkeeper, just get his head right and he’s great.’ So is his head right? ‘Well, he’s really fine now. I think he’s got over [Sheffield Wednesday] losing out in the play-offs and he made a really good save. As for Darren, I don’t think he’s let us down too often.’
Asked about the contrast between the Westwood save and the Randolph error, O’Neill played it down. ‘It’s all part of the game, it is, honestly.’
O’Neill changed goalkeeper mid-stream in the Euro qualifiers when Shay Given was preferred to David Forde. It was a bold call as Forde had done nothing wrong in the four previous qualifiers.
Thus far in five World Cup qualifiers, Randolph has been steady, as he was in the Euro 2016 finals last summer. Should he be discarded for one glitch in a friendly? It’s not likely and my bet is that he starts on Sunday. The choice of centre-half partner for Shane Duffy is intriguing as O’Neill has John O’Shea, Richard Keogh and John Egan to consider. Egan was picked against Mexico as O’Neill ‘wanted to have another look at him,’ and he did OK on a difficult night for the three-man central defence. Keogh, the more experienced player, also struggled in the MetLife Stadium before finding solace at right-back. Significantly, Keogh partnered Duffy in the Euro finals against Italy and France, which may stand to him. While O’Shea is no longer first choice, the veteran was on point guard for Duffy against Holland a year ago at the Aviva. A strong voice in the dressing room, if O’Shea trains well this week, the 36-year-old centurion may get the nod of approval from O’Neill.
Kevin Long was given 90 minutes on Sunday but is not yet ready for the step up.
‘He’s got certain things to work on, getting his body shape right for set pieces, for instance. He wants to listen, and he wants to learn but he’s essentially starting out his career,’ said O’Neill.
In the engine room, O’Neill has plenty of choice with Hendrick, Glenn Whelan, Harry Arter, Brady, Conor Hourihane and Wes Hoolahan.
Hendrick looked a tad leggy on Sunday but has become a pillar of the side since he started against Scotland a year ago.
Brady is vital for set-pieces alone and will start, while Arter’s energy, so crucial in the 1-0 win in Vienna in November, can’t be overlooked.
Whelan and Hoolahan bring contrasting qualities of steel and satin to the table.
Without McCarthy to patrol the back four, I suspect Whelan’s practical presence will be required.
With just three recognised centre-forwards, Jon Walters, Daryl Murphy and David McGoldrick in his 28-man panel, O’Neill has no need to pick two of them.
More likely, Walters will start, with Murphy, who got 90 minutes in his legs against Mexico and Uruguay, ready to be summoned for a final half-hour heave.
‘You think, can I slot someone in there, can they do a job’