Mccarthy: Danes show us lack of respect
Manager says Denmark ‘think they are better’ Victory tonight will seal Ireland’s place in finals
in Dublin
The mission is clear, the objective obvious, the ramifications huge. If the Republic of Ireland beat Denmark at home tonight, they will qualify automatically for next summer’s European Championship finals. Lose or draw and they will enter the play-offs, with Mick Mccarthy’s second spell as manager in danger of ending in failure.
It has been a functional if unspectacular campaign so far. Brought in to replace Martin O’neill, Mccarthy is yet to match the best achievements of his predecessor, whose most impressive nights included a home win over Germany, triumph against Bosnia in the play-off, victory over Italy to progress to the knockout stage of the Euros in 2016 and an away win over Wales to book a play-off against Denmark in their World Cup qualification campaign.
It was that defeat by the Danes in Dublin two years ago, a 5-1 thrashing that proved to be the beginning of the end for O’neill, eventually sacked after a disastrous Nations League campaign 12 months ago. This is a shot at revenge for the Irish, but also an opportunity for Mccarthy to prove he was the right choice to replace him. The stakes could not be higher.
“It is a night to make special memories,” said Mccarthy, looking and sounding relaxed at the team’s training base in Blanchardstown.
Ireland will qualify for Euro 2020 if they beat Denmark at the Aviva Stadium tonight. Denmark need to avoid defeat to qualify automatically, which would leave Ireland facing a two-legged play-off against another third-placed side.
“And we’ll be trying to do that. There’s nothing that you can suddenly just [clicks fingers] pluck out of thin air that we’re going to do because it’s an extra-special game. ‘I’ll do this now because that will guarantee us to win.’ It just won’t.
So, we’ll just have to continue doing what we’re doing and see if we can score more goals than we have.
“I’ve woken up this morning with butterflies, pulling on your boots on the day before a big game, I’m pleased with that. It’s a nice feeling getting ready for a game like this, when you know it’s a big game. This is the last part of the preparation, I enjoy that.
“Do they get any bigger? The one you’re playing, this is the biggest one. But I hope we’re going to have an even bigger one in July, playing in the European Championship.”
Denmark manager Age Hareide has admitted he is “p----- off” having to face Ireland again in such a pivotal fixture, as this will be their sixth meeting in two years.
The teams know each other well, but Mccarthy is likely to use unflattering comments from Danish players towards Ireland over the past few months in his pre-match team talk. “Absolutely they believe they are better than us,” he said. “I kind of like upsetting the odds.
“I hope he’s more p----- off on Tuesday morning after playing us. They certainly won’t want to lose to us, that’s for sure. They don’t regard us with enough respect, I don’t think. When you hear them talk, they think they are better than us. So I think they’ll play the same way. I don’t think they’ll sit back, thinking a draw will do.
“That would be a recipe for disaster for them. And I don’t think they believe they have to do that.” Republic of Ireland
Denmark
Referee Kick-off