Roberto Martinez heaps praise on Séamus Coleman ahead of Ireland clash

Portugal manager Roberto Martinez is reunited with one of his former players, 36-year-old defender Séamus Coleman, a meeting he is relishing when the Republic of Ireland visit Lisbon for their World Cup qualifier on Saturday.

Martinez said: “I think he was in that season, 2013, in my opinion the best right back in the Premier League by a mile.

“He’s somebody who has got this incredible capacity to arrive in the final third, to defend one-on-one situations, enormous capacity. And that leadership, it made him a captain material from the first day.

“I love him. I loved working with him. He was really demanding, somebody that you could see his evolution during the season. I have been very proud seeing his career.

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“To see him still at Everton, still being an important part of a club in the Premier League and then still being in the national camp ...

“I am really looking forward to seeing him tomorrow.”

When asked about Ireland, Martinez said: “Defensively, they are very strong and physical.

“It is a team that is very direct and we need to be very aware of winning our duels and also of the second balls.

“They are very good at winning them, leading to chances “We know that set pieces are a big part of their game and we are very aware of the qualities of their players.

“We need to give them no space and at the same time we need to play our game and try to command the game.”

Portugal could guarantee their participation in next summer’s finals with wins over Ireland and Hungary over the next few days.

“Secure qualification already? The most important thing is to perform as well as possible against Ireland and try to take it step by step. This qualifying phase is strange, there’s no room for error, but our preparation was very good, and we still have one more training session,” Martinez said.

“Our focus is on Ireland, and we can’t underestimate our opponent. Ireland had a difficult game in Armenia, with a trip in between after the first leg, and we expect a comeback. We’re only thinking about the game; the rest could be dangerous.”