Duffy: It’s us players who must sort mess
MARTIN O’NEILL admits he is fed up with Ireland’s no-score bores.
The Republic boss has watched his side fire blanks in 10 games in the last 12 months including three goalless draws.
Since record scorer Robbie Keane retired in August 2016, Ireland have scored just 21 goals in 23 games – and five of those came against the minnows of Moldova.
This year has been the worst of the O’Neill regime – hitting the net just four times in 2018. Little wonder he says they lack a natural goalscorer.
The former Leicester and Celtic boss said: “International matches are not easy but we should do better.
“We have to try to get some goals and that has been a problem in my five years, getting goals from somewhere.
“But first of all, we need to be more creative and the more chances we have in and around the penalty area the better chance we have of converting those.
“One good thing is that Robbie Brady is back after a year out. He has played a number of positions for me – left-back, wide left, right-wing and central midfield.
“Hopefully he stays injury-free for a couple of months and it would help if Jeff Hendrick found a bit of club form too.
“Overall we have some players here who are maybe not firing on all cylinders at this minute.”
Patience with O’Neill is wearing thin with some fans after five years in the job.
Aside from recent results being poor, there have also been problems with dual nationality players.
Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish has already changed allegiance from Ireland to England while West Ham’s Declan Rice is considering a similar switch.
But Southampton striker Michael Obafemi has committed to Ireland – even though he is also eligible for Nigeria and England.
O’Neill (below) said: “The eligibility question seems to be my issue every time we play a game.
“But ultimately it is the player’s decision.
“Jack Grealish switched in 2015 but he has not played for England since whereas he probably would have 30 caps for us and certainly would have gone to the
Euros with us if he’d stayed.
“But it is his choice and I respect that decision. Whatever view Declan Rice comes up with, I’ll respect that too.
“With Michael, the way the senior players brought him in and looked after him this week and the way the backroom staff did, including myself, had a big effect on his decision to commit to Ireland.
“He has work to do, like everyone else but he is a talented young player.”
Defender Shane Duffy reckons whizz-kid Obafemi can be a star of the future.
Duffy said: “It is great to see us getting players like Michael.
“We want players who want to play for us. He’s quiet, he’s a nice lad and looks sharp, powerful.
“But he’s only a baby and we can’t put too much pressure on him. We are all looking for a striker but we have to let the kid grow and develop.” L
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GAMES TO PLAY Tomorrow: Denmark v Republic (7.45pm) SHANE DUFFY has taken the heat off under-fire boss Martin O’Neill, insisting it is the players’ job not the manager’s to get Ireland out of the mess they are in.
The Boys in Green have won just one match out of eight this year, following on from their miserable record of two wins in 2017.
O’Neill’s side have been relegated to the third tier of the Nations League after three games without a goal.
And defender Duffy said: “It is up to us to turn it round. It has not been a good year.
“It has to be better. It is not good enough at the moment.
“But it is up to us to stick together as we always do and hopefully it can be a better year in 2019.
“Things are just not clicking at the moment. It was sloppy against Northern Ireland. We need to create more going forward and not just rely on set-pieces.
“We are trying hard to turn things around but there is a bit of negativity – and it is up to us as players to get that winning feeling back.
“We have not won since the 2-1 victory over the USA in June.
“It is down to us now.” Tomorrow Ireland return to the scene of where their slump started.
They fought out a 0-0 draw in Denmark a year ago in the first leg of their World Cup play-off – but three days later were hammered 5-1 at The Aviva.
Since then they have played eight matches and won just once.
But Duffy insists that 5-1 loss is not hanging over them.
The Brighton stopper said: “You have to move on. We have to put it to bed.
“It is a year ago now and a lot has happened since then, it’s a different team.
“We are always going on about it being a transitional period but as players we have to be better than what we are showing at the minute.
“Hopefully we will put it right.
“I know we always seem to being talking about improving things but it is down to the players to be braver on the ball.
“That is where we are not clicking at the moment. We have to dust ourselves down, be positive and go again.
“Every team and every footballer goes through patches like this where it is not clicking.
“It is not like the effort is not there.
“We are trying but it is just not happening and that is the most frustrating thing.
'We know we are better than our performances suggest.”