McGRATH O’NEILL WILL BE JUDGED ON RESULTS ALONE
O’Neill must be not burdened by some misguided notion of loyalty
RESULTS will settle the fate of Martin O’Neill. His time as Ireland manager will not be judged by Twitter polls or reporters sensitive to snubs. Instead, the timeless business of winning matches will decide whether he has served Ireland well or not.
After days bloated on indignation and seemingly endless reservoirs of righteousness, the topic of O’Neill continuing as Ireland manager can be regarded in a more temperate climate.
John Delaney’s account of the drama of recent times was interestingly frank, especially when acknowledging that there is little the FAI can do if O’Neill chooses to talk to clubs about prospective jobs.
‘If an employee wants to leave an employer you can’t stand in their way,’ said Delaney.
Demands for O’Neill’s new concation tract to include clauses preventing him from discussing opportunities elsewhere are unrealistic, but stem from an insistence that the manager can only prove himself to the Irish nation by a public display of loyalty.
In fact the only way O’Neill can convince supporters of his commitment is by building a new Irish team good enough to reach the finals of the 2020 European Championship.
Five decades in the sport will have exposed him to many instances where loyalty was a trifling matter, on the part of both managers and their employers.
There have been few more loyal servants to Irish soccer than Stephen Staunton, yet he lost his job because results were poor. He was also, incidentally, treated in a lamentably disrespectful manner by elements of the Irish media, and his loyalty to his country did not save him then.
Soccer is a tough, often dirty industry, and plaintive demands for Martin O’Neill to prove how loyal he is are attempts to hold him to a standard that is disregarded throughout the game.
It makes rather more sense to see how he does reinvigorating the national team. Perhaps it is the nine-month wait for a competitive match that feeds demands for an immediate recognition of his dedi- to the national cause.
However, it is only through games that his ongoing effectiveness as the manager of Ireland can be gauged. This extends to the friendlies against Turkey in March and France in May.
Ireland are in desperate need of a refit, and the controversies of the past week should not obscure that fact.
If the players are not as poor as they showed in that embarrassing loss to Denmark, they are not so good or so plentiful that ambitious claims can be made on their part.
Retirements seem imminent in the cases of John O’Shea, Jonathan Walters and Glenn Whelan. Robbie Brady is out for months with an injury.
Shane Long’s chronic difficulties in trying to score goals merely extend a desperate need for an effective forward. With no gush of young talent to encourage growth, O’Neill must earn his money by working as creatively as possible with meagre resources.
Scott Hogan at Aston Villa should be capped, for instance. Declan Rice has thrived at West Ham thanks to David Moyes and his development is a tendril of optimism.
Other cases require more sensitive treatment. Harry Arter’s value to Ireland was illustrated by the collapse that followed his substitution – along with David Meyler – at half time against the Danes.
Indifferent form for Bournemouth, though, stoked rumours of a possible transfer, but he is a competitor O’Neill must cast as one of the foundation stones of a revitalised team.
In managing issues such as these ones, O’Neill can improve a team whose limitations were starkly revealed last November.
There are no quick solutions, even if the imploring cries for the redemptive powers of Wes Hoolahan are likely to continue long past O’Neill’s time as manager and follow Hoolahan deep into retirement.
Ireland at their best under O’Neill have been durable and opportunistic.
The first virtue requires discipline and drilling, the second players who are good enough to take advantage of rare chances in a match.
But the entire plan is founded upon honesty and unflagging effort, and if the team lacks for those, then Ireland are doomed and O’Neill’s tenure with them.
There is no basis for defending him if Ireland cannot recover from that Denmark humiliation, but wins against Germany, Italy, Austria and Wales speak to his proven ability to turn modest talents into a successful unit.
He has to rediscover that aptitude for making much of little. If he fails to do so, then he will be gone. The viability of a manager is determined by results, not feelings.
If Ireland start winning, no one will speak of Stoke again.