Trapattoni bruised but not battered

INTERNATIONAL:HAVING SEEN his side suffer their worst defeat since that infamous 5-2 loss in Nicosia, Giovanni Trapattoni admitted to lying awake awhile on Wednesday night thinking about how he would answer when asked yesterday about the positives he could take from the Australia game.

By the time the question came yesterday at Carlow IT, where he helped launch a new FAI-backed degree course in Sport and Exercise, it was clear that his morale had not been too badly battered.

“This is not a beautiful day for me after the defeat,” he announced with his trademark smile restored. “Usually I am used to winning; I have been lucky in my sporting life. But thank God, I have lost on some occasions.”

The suggestion that an occasional defeat like this can provide valuable lessons and perspective ahead of more serious tests is fair enough. His insistence, however, that the glass might be viewed as half full because he now knows his best team for next month’s return to Cyprus underlines his ability to look on the bright side when dealing with this squad of players because few of Wednesday’s pointers were particularly positive.

The feeling is that Aiden McGeady may have played his way into the starting line-up on September 5th while Darron Gibson has almost certainly played himself out of it.

Barring a dramatic return to full fitness by Steve Finnan, it would appear that Seán St Ledger will start his fourth full international in Cyprus but it is possible that Kevin Kilbane’s escalating error rate may prompt an end to his remarkable run in the team.

Increasingly, the greatest argument for retaining the Hull City left back is the lack of a viable alternative. Trapattoni has, however, readily praised Preston’s Eddie Nolan in the wake of his second appearance at this level and there are those who feel the manager believes the 21-year-old may be worth taking a chance with in Nicosia. However, the Italian appeared to be cautious about the idea when it was raised yesterday, observing: “I don’t wish to change the team because of a mistake. I need to change when it is possible to change.”

Still, the manager will be under no illusions about the extent of the shortcomings that were highlighted this week in his current personnel. He has spent a great deal of time getting his players used to what is a fairly rigid system with some positive results in terms of the World Cup qualifying campaign. Their inability to deal with an Australian side that played with five in midfield and, critically, had Tim Cahill roaming between Ireland’s back and middle lines of four highlighted the downside of trying to compensate with tactics for what you lack in terms of talent.

The manager was at pains to play down the significance of the defeat, pointing to his players’ lack of match fitness as an explanation for their lacklustre performance then, when it was pointed almost all of the Australians were just starting into new league seasons too, citing the visitors’ superior physique as the true cause of the problem.

But if the game at Thomond Park did really prove to be a greater disappointment than he is willing to acknowledge, then Trapattoni will at least be pleased by some of developments over the past couple of days in relation to the club careers of a few of his players. Stephen Hunt completed his move to Hull City yesterday, Damien Duff was the subject of a €4.5 million offer from an unnamed Premiership club and Richard Dunne confirmed that he will not be leaving Manchester City whatever happens with regard to the club’s ongoing and increasingly desperate search for a centre back.

While being unveiled, Hunt revealed why he as been so keen to get back to the top flight, noting that it is the “little things you miss in the Premier League. Little things like free-kicks and playing with different balls in the Premier League, you miss that.”

Duff looks as though he might follow him before long although it remained uncertain last night who has bid for the winger. Hull and Burnley are amongst those to have been linked with him previously but anothe possible suitor could be Mick McCarthy at Wolves with both the manager and his chief executive, Jez Moxley, adamant they are actively pursuing another couple of players in the wake of re-signing Chelsea defender Michael Mancienne on a season-long loan yesterday.

Dunne, meanwhile, dismissed any suggestion that he might be forced out of Eastlands by the flood of economic migrants the club is currently attracting.

“I want to stay at City. I’m excited by the project here and want to be part of that. I’ve been assured I don’t have to leave and the manager never said I had to go. These are exciting times.”

Barely a Trapattoni press conference passes without Stephen Ireland’s name being mentioned and having declined to take the bait once yesterday, the 70-year-old said the player’s heart must be in a return to the squad while hinting that he feels the midfielder is reluctant to test himself on the international stage.

“I want him to return but he has to have a willingness to play, a fire inside,” he said. “I could have gone and hidden myself too but it was only by playing against the famous players, against Eusebio and Pele, that I became famous.”