SINÉAD KISSANE

Ireland’s ring of confidence is thanks to Mick McCarthy

WHEN Mick McCarthy was confirmed as the new Republic of Ireland manager last November, there were a few other announcements that could have defused the buzz around his second coming. The smile on McCarthy’s face took a subtle dip when John Delaney – who was sitting beside him at the top table at the Aviva stadium – confirmed that Stephen Kenny would take over as manager after Euro 2020.

Even though McCarthy said later in the press conference that he had accepted this arrangement, it was as though his exit was being written up as quick as his entrance. And then, the following morning, the FAI’s best buds – the IRFU – knocked the McCarthy story off top billing when they announced that Joe Schmidt would finish up as Ireland head coach after the World Cup, with a shiny new succession plan of their own.

After the crevices started to show in Martin O’Neill’s reign as manager, one comparison noted was how his style rubbed up against Schmidt’s.

As word started leaking out that O’Neill didn’t seem to prepare his team for match situations – like, oh, how to defend a corner – you could hear the guffawing from rugby circles. Such lack of preparation would be unthinkable to Schmidt.

A management team that included Roy Keane, with his dog-eared ‘fail to prepare’ mantra, was being exposed as anything but. When Keane sat on a theatre stage last month and threw nasty and petty digs at some of his former players in return for cash and cheap laughs, it gave us a clear reminder of how toxic an environment he can create. As has been noted elsewhere, the more we hear and see of Keane, the more understandable McCarthy’s position in Saipan becomes.

On the same day that McCarthy had that first press conference – November 25, 2018 – the stock of the Ireland rugby team rose further when they won three gongs at the World Rugby awards, including Coach of the Year. Schmidt’s standing was at its highest ever and the awards franked a year to remember.

But 2018 was an utterly forgettable one for the Republic of Ireland soccer team, marked by events like dull Nations League games with pitiful attendances. The FAI eventually put us out of our misery by showing O’Neill the door.

Less than 11 months later and how the fortunes of both teams have shifted.

With big games today for both teams – albeit in different contexts because of the tournaments involved – the feeling of anxiousness and concern is attached to the rugby team. Meanwhile, a sense of hope – boosted by the selection of Aaron Connolly following his brace for Brighton against Tottenham – is with Mick’s men.

There’s a natural bounce that comes with anything new and although McCarthy (right) is not new to us, his ways have the distinct appearance of freshness about them.

When he was asked at his unveiling press conference last November if it had been suggested to him to take on Robbie Keane as his assistant, McCarthy said with dry candour: “It was suggested to me, by Robbie. First I thought, ‘you cheeky b **** x’, to be quite honest.”

Honesty is one of McCarthy’s calling cards. Against the backdrop of the most shameful and damaging time in the history of the FAI with the Delaney revelations, McCarthy has been an antidote to that.

It’s hard to escape the sense that what you see is what you get with McCarthy. He can be spiky and defensive and doesn’t take too kindly to anyone who mentions Saipan.

But while he should give leeway to the eternal fascination with events that took place on that small island off the coast of Japan in the Pacific Ocean, you can also understand his frustration with it still being a topic of unquenchable interest 17 years later.

McCarthy doesn’t have a reputation as a tactical genius like Schmidt, but that doesn’t undermine his gift as a manager. The force of his personality is reflected in the work ethic of the team.

With five minutes of normal time remaining in the qualifier against Switzerland last month and with the Republic of Ireland staring down the gut of a costly defeat, James McClean hunted down his Swiss opponent, won back the ball and fired in a deflected cross for David McGoldrick to head home his first international goal and rescue a priceless point.

Eruption

The main TV camera visibly shook with the eruption of relief and delight inside the Aviva Stadium. The fall-out with Roy Keane in Saipan will forever follow him but McCarthy’s biggest selling point is his man-management. In an interview with Richie Sadlier on the Second Captains podcast, Matt Doherty said it’s the small things McCarthy does, like texting him to see if he’s playing for his club so he can go and watch him play. “(His manmanagement) that’s probably why we’re top of the group. You can see there’s more togetherness,” Doherty said. “The atmosphere (at training) is completely different and for the good, it’s a lot better for sure”.

Maybe it’s because he’s older and more experienced, but McCarthy doesn’t make management look too complicated, which is a skill in itself. Sure, that could sour depending on how results go over the next few days, but McCarthy isn’t afraid to show how much he’s just enjoying himself.

“To be back I’m thrilled, loving every minute of it,” he said this week in an interview with Virgin Media Television. “I was asked the other day in a question-and-answer if there was anything I didn’t like about the job. Not one thing. Not a thing, I love all of it.”

And it makes you wonder how much Schmidt is loving his job at the moment.

The Ireland rugby squad are currently located a couple of thousand kilometres away from Saipan and maybe they could learn a thing or two from what happened there 17 years ago. What McCarthy showed is you can momentarily be the biggest story of a World Cup in Japan for all the wrong reasons, but good manmanagement can also help ignite a togetherness that might just see the players through to the other end.