Coach Minasyan talks a good game

THE LOCAL journalists breathed a collective sigh of relief after the first question. Turns out Armenian manager Vardan Minasyan has better English than his Irish counterpart.

The 37-year-old is a refined, well educated man who has shaped this team to his own liking.

When the late Ian Porterfield, Alex Ferguson’s successor at Aberdeen back in 1986, was given the Armenian job in 2006, Minasyan was brought in as his assistant. The fluent English must have helped but there is something else intriguing about him. He was retained again when Jan Poulsen got the job in 2008.

Eventually the role came to him but recent results indicate he did not stumble into it. The 4-1 defeat of Macedonia and 4-0 victory in Slovakia are the beginning of something. He spoke about going to Brazil in 2014.

“They are young and they want to achieve something in their life because they have just started to play football. They want more. For the future? Yes, we want to win tomorrow but this, for us, will be a great experience, playing at this ground.”

Worryingly, he played down the significance of tonight’s occasion.

“When I first took this team it was to mould a new generation. To make some quality. To begin. To make a team. I took 10 players from the under-21s. It was about building a good spirit and quality of the game.

“If we don’t qualify, it is no tragedy for us because we have already taken a lot from this (campaign).”

A lot has changed since Ireland escaped from the small, landlocked and mountainous nation in the Caucasus with a one-nil victory back in September 2010. Hasn’t it? “The Irish team is a very, very strong team but also we believe we can win this game. It is important for us to get three points. But we understand the Irish is a very strong team.”

Minasyan has also, clearly, done a few press conferences in his time. What about Robbie Keane’s absence? “I think he is a big player for your team. I think he is a player with a great spirit. I don’t know how bad it is for the Irish team but for us it is a good thing.”

Are your recent wins down to confidence, experience or what? “It is these two things, confidence and experience.”

Minasyan refused, politely, to bite down hard on any question.

How big a deal would qualification be in Armenia? “I cannot explain. For you to understand you have to be there for three or four days. How we play tomorrow is not important but now our people understand we have a football team.”

Oh dear. This is a real threat. Especially when he heaps praise on the hosts. “I like the team spirit of this Irish team. They fight all the time. Even if they lose 3-0, 4-0. For example against Russia – they fought for 90 minutes. Some teams with good players they don’t play with organisation, they don’t play a team game. Ireland play a team game.”