Trapattoni thanks luck and his stars

Soccer:Having arrived back in Dublin after what turned out to be an extraordinarily fruitful mission to Moscow, Giovanni Trapattoni wasn't afraid to call it like it was.

The Italian has staunchly defended his side’s performances in the past, often reading them entirely differently to the rest, but he was under no illusions how fortunate his side were to emerge from the Luzhniki Stadium with a draw on Tuesday.

Ireland were pummelled by the home side for 93 minutes but, thanks to Shay Given and Richard Dunne, in particular, their goal remained intact. The valuable point turned out to be priceless later in the evening when a 4-0 win for Armenia in Slovakia left Ireland alone in second with just two games to go.

Six points from the trip to Andorra and the visit of Armenia will guarantee at east a play-off place for Euro 2012 but could be enough to top the group if Russia lose in Slovakia.

Like the rest of us, the manager wasn’t sure what to make of the turn of events.

“I don’t know if I can say it is a beautiful or it is not a beautiful day,” he said. “Before the game I hoped it was possible to win but it was clear on the pitch that we were physically inferior.

“As I said we have been a little bit lucky because Russia deserved to score. Thanks to our players, our discipline, our attitude, our mentality and our performance we could achieve a very precious result.”

The manager, who shares a birthday with Ireland’s patron saint, added: “St Patrick looked down on us.”

After mistakingly referring to his captain Robbie Keane’s new place of work as Las Vegas, he was asked whether he might go there some time soon, given the good fortune he and his side have experienced in the last 24 hours.

As if his tactics on the pitch weren’t evidence enough that he doesn’t like a flutter, he reiterated the point.

“I never bet on roulette or cards, because I began football at 14 years old. I had luck in my life. It’s impossible to ask more by playing roulette. I have never played. I was also in Las Vegas on holiday. My friend said to play roulette but I couldn’t ask St Patrick or God for more luck.”

Similarly, he is not making any predictions for how Group B will pan out but he won’t be taking anything for granted.

“We have two not easy games but ones we can win. Russia play Slovakia and for Slovakia it will be the last chance. I do not have the crystal ball. I didn’t think Slovakia would lose 4-0. That is football.

He added: “If you remember in Armenia it was a very difficult game. They are strong and their mentality is very quick. They are difficult but the team showed me they do not want to lose, this enthusiasm and belief, it’s a great support for us.”

The manager also indicated he would be interested in staying on as coach after the current qualifiers, insisting he had not finished the job he and Marco Tardelli set out to do.

“The problem is not mine,” he said, hinting it was up to the FAI to decide. “The problem is I would like to finish this job because until now I think we have not yet changed all mentality, attitude, system.

“I should be proud to continue,” he added.