GREEN WAS THE RIGHT MAN
the 2014 World Cup finals. Asked yesterday if he felt he had the backing of the FAI, Trapattoni bristled: ‘That is not my duty. My duty is to make what it’s possible to do with this team,’ he said.
‘Our job is to discover other players to renew, to grow the team’s experience, confidence and conviction. We will continue to look for new players with Irish fathers and grandfathers.’
Trapattoni prayed before Tuesday’s game but his entreaties went unanswered as Ireland’s dreadful home record under his charge was extended — they have won just five out of 14 competitive games.
The Group C table carries a health warning for a fourth-placed team who must beat t he Faroe Islands on June 7 and pluck at least four points from the visit of Sweden and trip to Vienna in September to stay on track for the play-offs.
Even Trapattoni agreed there was no room for error. ‘The group is like a game of arm wrestling,’ he said, holding his arm upright. With James McCarthy suspended for the Faroes visit, Wes Hoolahan is likely to be promoted, despite the midfielder’s controversial exclusion on Tuesday.
Predictably, Trapattoni defended his decision to put Paul Green on ahead of Hoolahan in the final minutes, even though a more logical solution might have been Green replacing Sammon to bolster the midfield, leaving Long up front on his own.
‘The Austria midfield was forcing us to defend in this moment so I decide to play with Paul Green. I thought also about Hoolahan, an offensive, creative player. At this moment, we needed a different reaction, which Green gives us,’ he said.
Trapattoni claimed Shane Long was tired, an assertion the player rejected, while f ormer manager Brian Kerr questioned the wisdom of taking Long off.
‘For me it was a bad decision. He was more likely to keep the ball in the corners which was required at the time,’ said Kerr.
With Long also suspended for the Faroes game, Robbie Keane may be given the chance to add to his 123 caps — he is two shy of