O’Neill must get Irish spring off to a fresh start
AS bird-song filled the air yesterday under a welcome sun, there was a sense that spring had arrived to replace ‘The Beast’ and Emma.
This is a time of regeneration and it’s fitting that Martin O’Neill will return to Aviva Stadium tomorrow to map out his renewal plans for the Republic of Ireland.
O’Neill hasn’t been on official business in these parts since last November’s play-off pain.
It was more acute then, to the point he was contemplating jacking things in, but has become dulled by time — one of life’s great healers.
O’Neill has met the Irish media once in the past four months, at the UEFA Nations League draw in Lausanne where he seemed more intent on scoring points off RTÉ’s Tony O’Donoghue than giving straight answers about the Stoke City speculation.
Whether O’Neill was offered the Stoke job remains open to conjecture but he has signed up as Ireland manager for another two years and has much to occupy him. Between now and the summer break, O’Neill has three matches in which to introduce players and see how his hand is stacking up for the madness that lies ahead.
Between September next and November 2019, Ireland will play 14 competitive games, all of which have a bearing on the Euro 2020 finals.
As the FAI come out of winter hibernation and bid adieu to two key players, Peter Sherrard (director of operations) and Ian Mallon (director of communications), the senior team is also in transition.
So far, O’Neill has lost Daryl Murphy and Wes Hoolahan, while other stalwarts — John O’Shea, Jon Walters and Glenn Whelan — are coming to the end of the road.
Just as Robbie Keane was given a chance to bow out in Dublin after the Euro 2016 finals, these outstanding servants deserve a fitting send-off, too. The friendly against the United States in Dublin on June 2 would appear tailor-made for a collective curtain call.
Walters, 35 in September, has been a warrior but a succession of knee issues have held him back while Whelan, 34, can sign off knowing no central midfielder ever played more often for Ireland,
For O’Shea, bowing out will be a wrench as he has donned the green jersey since U16 level and has close to 22 years of unbroken service — an extraordinary commitment that should be honoured by the FAI with a testimonial.
O’Shea can leave safe in the knowledge that the defence is in decent shape as O’Neill has a solid partnership of Shane Duffy, 26, and Ciaran Clark, 28, while the emerging Declan Rice, 19, can provide competition for Richard Keogh, 31.
London-born Rice, who caught the attention of Gareth Southgate, will be named in O’Neill’s squad and should become a squad regular based on his excellent progress at West Ham.
Not that Rice is the finished article, as witnessed in Saturday’s 4-1 loss to Swansea, but he is one of just 17 Irish players with Premier League minutes this season available to O’Neill and his time for advancement has arrived.
Finding a like-for-like replacement for Hoolahan may take longer but O’Neill will have seen Conor Hourihane, industrious and mobile, emerging ahead of Whelan in the pecking order at Villa.
Others who can expect involvement for the trip to Turkey on Monday week, which includes three days of training before a friendly in Antalya on March 23, include striker Sean Maguire (Preston) and Scott Hogan (Aston Villa).