O’DOWDA WANTS TO GET FANS OUT OF THEIR SEATS —
‘I’m actually getting frustrated just talking about it’ by DAVID SNEYD
THE Republic of Ireland might just get hit with some home truths by the Lansdowne Road crowd if the current downward trend continues over the next few days.
This past week has been about controlling the message from the FAI. It kicked off with James McClean admitting he didn’t agree with Harry Arter’s decision to make himself unavailable for selection last month because of the foul-mouthed abuse aimed at him by Roy Keane.
But the on-loan Cardiff City midfielder is back in the fold for Denmark tonight and Wales on Tuesday, so everything is now just fine according to McClean.
Nothing to see here, move along.
Martin O’Neill joked that Keane and Arter had met and ironed out their differences over a bite to eat.
‘Breakfast at Tiffany’s. They’re really fine,’ he said on Tuesday.
Neither was available for interview since linking up. Especially strange in the case of the assistant manager, who is usually a regular in the press room.
Gagged may be too strong a word to use, but then the only words that were forthcoming from Keane this week were via the Notts TV website, where he admitted that ‘hopefully soon I’d like to become a manager again’.
As for the mood around the international team? Well, it couldn’t be better according to the FAI. Season ticket sales broke records yet again — just over 16,000 — while Lansdowne will be close to full capacity tonight with the association confirming 46,000 tickets have been snapped up.
That is a stunning testament to the fans’ loyalty and it’s something O’Neill is banking on to help his side against the Danes.
‘I don’t think the crowd need reenergising at all, it’s up to us to do that on the field of play,’ he said.
‘We’ve had some terrific nights, we’re going to have a big crowd so I don’t think fans deserted the team by any stretch of the imagination. I think they have been really supportive.’
Success had stifled a growing number unhappy with the style of play. Losing 5-1 in a World Cup play-off and then looking completely out of sorts 11 months later while losing 4-1 to Wales in the opening Nations League fixture have increased the pressure as well as the dissenting voices.
Flying out of the traps with a performance to remind everyone of O’Neill’s talents as a man-manager is a sure-fire way of getting supporters back on side.
‘You can’t say that,’ Callum O’Dowda insisted. ‘I don’t think it’s healthy to be in that mindset. You don’t want to change your emotions going into the game or put any more pressure on other players. I wouldn’t be saying to our defenders that they need to be acting differently because they beat us last time.
‘I think the hunger is still going to be there and it’ll be nice to be playing at home with all our fans there instead of like the Wales game where they didn’t give much space to the fans. It will be nice to have the Aviva going again.’
It has become increasingly clear that one thing which cannot be controlled is what happens on the pitch. As was the case against Wales last month.
‘You have games like that. It’s football. And you have to give them credit, they were good on the night as well. But, yeah, we should have been a lot better than that. Which was the annoying thing about it. I’m actually getting frustrated just talking about it now, if I’m being honest,’ O’Dowda continued.
‘I thought they dominated us and it hurts me to say it. I wouldn’t say we rolled over. I’d just say it was one of those games where we didn’t have much of the ball.
‘They were very possessionbased, they had good players and a good formation on the night. But we’ve learned from that.
‘In the Poland game I thought we were a lot better. It’s not about everyone getting together and discussing what went wrong. We did discuss it anyway, but we just know in ourselves that we can’t be putting in performances like that again.’
O’Dowda, 23, has become a more prominent figure for Ireland and with O’Neill’s fondness for midfielders being able to drive forward with the ball at their feet, the Bristol City winger is likely to once again have a more central attacking role.
‘As I’m getting older I think I’m starting to grow into it a bit more. I’m trying to become more established in the team and I want to be involved in the major competitions. That’s what I want to do.
‘You’ve got these Nations League games, the Euros and then the next World Cup — I’m already thinking to that. I know I was close to the Euros when I first came in and being around the squad then was probably one of the most enjoyable times of my career.
‘Just being a part of it, and I didn’t even go. But I loved every minute of it. And then there were the World Cup qualifiers. It’s the biggest stage and that’s why you play football. Those are the moments you live for.’
Making a difference on nights like tonight will help realise those ambitions.