Veterans prepare to take leave
FOR all the optimism and positivity looking towards the future, there was still an overriding sense of finality for Martin O’Neill the day after the Republic of Ireland’s Euro 2016 exit.
Some of the veterans within his squad might just be feeling the same way as the three most capped players in Ireland’s history prepare to potentially bow out all at the same time. Shay Given did not travel back to Dublin with the squad yesterday, instead preferring to stay on with family in Versailles.
The 40-year-old has yet to announce his decision but after admitting before the tournament that he would be watching the World Cup campaign ‘from the stands’, the likelihood is he will call time on his 134 cap international career for the second time sooner rather than later.
‘He has been phenomenal for Ireland. He has been a great servant,’ current No.1 Darren Randolph said, as he revealed how emotions got the better of both men after the final whistle in Lyon on Sunday.
‘I think I had just stopped crying at the end and then I saw him crying. That set me off again.’
Only Robbie Keane has represented his country more times than Given, the 35year-old’s two substitute appearances during the group stages taking his tally up to 145.
The striker has also kept his counsel but the sight of Ireland’s two most capped players embracing and saluting the fans after the French defeat seemed an indication that they would soon depart into the sunset.
John O’Shea, who overtook Kevin Kilbane on the 110 mark with his two starts against Sweden and Belgium as well as a run off the bench at the weekend, should have more to offer for the upcoming World Cup qualifying campaign.
At 35, though, and with life in the Premier League only getting more demanding, the Sunderland defender knows he must consider all options.
The speed at which the younger players developed and took on responsibility over the last four games is one of the main reasons why optimism is so high.
Robbie Brady and Jeff Hendrick were the two star performers in midfield and are both just 24-years-old. Alongside them, James McCarthy, 25, was entrusted by O’Neill to protect the back four in the two biggest games. Behind him, the promise shown by Shane Duffy, also 24, is encouraging, despite the fact he was shown a red card for his professional foul on Antoine Griezmann.
‘We’ve got a good squad, you mention the young boys but certainly the experienced players within the squad. they keep us going,’ McCarthy insisted.
‘Hopefully we can see them for the World Cup campaign. We have a few experienced boys and a lot of people are saying “will they move on will they not?” Certainly we don’t want them to move on. We’re happy with them here and as much experience we can get in the team the better.’
After making sure to salute those few thousand fans who managed to get tickets in the reduced Irish section, the players began to reflect on the impact made both on and off the pitch over the past weeks. ‘We showed we could compete. Even in the first half against Belgium we were still in the game. And even before they got the first goal, we could have had a penalty in that match. But we can definitely take confidence from the performances and from the young boys coming into the team,’ Randolph maintains. ‘We have seen all the videos that have been sent to us of the fans over here and the ones back home. We are seeing all the fans there at the end, too. We mightn’t see that again…. Certainly in this tournament. And then you never know if you are going to get back here again. So it was definitely a case of taking it all in.’ For some, it was the last time.