Trapattoni dismisses talk of the sack

Soccer:Giovanni Trapattoni tonight insisted he is going nowhere amid speculation that his reign as Republic of Ireland manager could be over by weekend.

The Italian’s pre-match press conference ahead of Tuesday night’s World Cup qualifier against the Faroe Islands in Torshavn was dominated by the debate over his future with one report back at home claiming he will be relieved of his duties by the end of the week whatever happens at the Torsvollur Stadium.

That, coupled with claims that mild-mannered defender Stephen Kelly, an unused substitute for Friday night’s 6-1 mauling by Germany, had to be persuaded to board the plane after a fall-out with assistant manager Marco Tardelli, sparked a mutinous atmosphere as the 73-year-old was grilled by journalists.

But with the likes of Harry Redknapp and Mick McCarthy already being linked with an impending vacancy, Trapattoni was stubbornly refusing to consider that his job might be in jeopardy.

Asked if he expected tomorrow night’s game to be his last as Ireland manager, he replied: “Absolutely not.

“I ask you why? We have started the qualifying campaign and we have lost one game to Germany. There is no reason.”

Asked further if he still believed he had the support of the FAI he said: “When they are sure, they have to decide, not me.

“I have crossed the Alps barefoot and I have overcome many difficult situations in my career.

“Every manager has moments when he loses. After the Euros, we have lost only one game to Germany, the second team in the world. It’s no problem.”

Trapattoni revealed he had had no contact with FAI chief executive John Delaney since the debacle at the Aviva Stadium on Friday night which proved the final straw for many, and there was no comment from the association over the claims that the end-game is already underway.

However, asked if he expected to see out his contract, he admitted that decision may not be his to make.

He said: “I don’t know. Game to game, we can show the results we have achieved, but it’s not me who will decide. Until now, we lost one game. Why change immediately after Germany?

“I can ask you all, why change immediately your opinion? We lost one game against Germany, and we were missing six players from the Euros.

“Why I have to discuss it, I don’t know. My job is to overcome the criticism. Every 90 minutes is 90 minutes.

“I accept the criticism. We played badly and they (Germany) were very, very superior.”

What is clear is that if Trapattoni is to go, he will have to be pushed, and that could prove expensive for the FAI at a time when finance is an issue.

Indeed, the salaries of Trapattoni and his staff have been part-funded through his four and a half-year reign to date by businessman Denis O’Brien, and it seems certain that he will have a significant say in what eventually transpires.

Perhaps the most damning criticism of the Italian is the suggestion that he has now lost the dressingroom, something he denies, although the reports of Kelly’s dissatisfaction have been greeted as firm evidence to the contrary.

Trapattoni was adamant that there had been no bust-up with World Cup winner Tardelli, and that Kelly spoke to him when he learned he would not be in the starting line-up for the Germany game.

He said: “Steve asked me if he was playing and I told him he wasn’t. I clarified that I wanted a more offensive player because it was a game we needed to have more push up front. Seamus Coleman then and also tomorrow, can be important in this.

“He (Kelly) was a bit disappointed, and he said ‘Ah, okay, I thought I could play’. He said, ‘I have to think about it a little bit’. He thought and he thought very well. He’s here. That is important, he’s here.”

Kelly will have to make do with a seat on the bench once again tomorrow evening with Coleman retaining his place, while Darren O’Dea continues alongside John O’Shea in central defence despite a very poor game against Germany where he conceded a penalty.

Skipper Robbie Keane has re-affirmed his support for his international manager.Asked if he and his team-mates remain firmly behind Trapattoni amid claims that the manager has lost the dressing room, he replied: “Of course we are.

“Listen, there are always going to be rifts in the camp and we certainly know that as players. The players who are not playing are going to be disappointed, that’s normal.

"Every week since I have been playing football, every week there is one argument in the team, every week in clubs. It’s normal, it’s natural and it happens all the time. Unfortunately we are in a bubble here with the Irish set-up. It’s a bubble and stuff gets out and that’s no problem.

“But this happens every week in football. Last week before I left LA Galaxy, it happened; two weeks before that, it happened and when I was at Tottenham, it happened. It happens all the time.

“We are in this together and we have to stick together. The manager has a contract and of course the players want to see that continue.

“We have lost two qualifying games since he has taken over, (against) Germany and Russia.”

Keane was offering no excuses for the horror show in Dublin, but his determination to right an horrific wrong was clear.

Asked if the players owe Trapattoni a performance, he said: “Listen, everybody is in this together, of course we owe him.

“It’s clear to see and I don’t need to tell you the job he has done for the country.

“I think as players, we let ourselves down, we let our country down and whether you are playing or not playing, we are all in this together.

“We are all going to be criticised together and it’s important that we all pay back together.

“Tomorrow, it will be interesting to see the separation of the men from the boys. It was not good enough on Friday and it’s important now that we stand up and be counted.

“Listen, the lads accept you are going to get criticised, and I mentioned after the game that there’s going to be a lot of negativity around the whole country, which there has been, and rightly so.

“It wasn’t good enough, we all know that and we accept that, but it is up to us as players now to put this right tomorrow night.

“We will be doing our best to do that and hopefully we can rectify a little bit how bad Friday’s result was by getting three points tomorrow night.”