SOCCER:GIOVANNI TRAPATTONI may feel Darron Gibson should show a little less patience about living life on the margins at Manchester United in order to improve his international prospects but the midfielder insisted yesterday he is playing a rather longer game.
Having turned down opportunities to leave Old Trafford on loan to secure first team football last year and dismissed the veteran Italian’s hint he should do so now, the 22-year-old is confident success at United, even if takes longer to achieve, will pave the way to a regular starting spot for his country.
For the moment, he finds himself behind Paul Green in the Italian’s midfield pecking order but asked if he will be happy in 10 years’ time reflecting on a career that includes a few hundred United appearances and 50 for the Republic, he takes slight issue with the latter figure: “Hopefully, there’ll be more than 50 for Ireland,” he said with a smile.
Trapattoni is understandably anxious to see as many of his players as possible starting club games week-in, week-out but as he spoke in Manchester yesterday ahead of the launch of FIFA 11, the latest version of the popular EA Sports game, there was a quiet air of confidence on Gibson’s part that his time will come at United and it will be worth the wait.
He and Trapattoni appeared to clash on the issue a few weeks back but Gibson is relaxed about the fuss that greeted his reaction to the manager’s suggestion he would benefit from moving on.
“Look, I can see where he’s coming from. I think it’s a mix-up over what was said. I don’t think he actually said I need to go on loan; he said it would be good for me to go on loan to somewhere like Stoke to learn a different style rather than being at Manchester United and playing football every week. I think in a way he’s right in what he’s saying but I think I can learn a lot at Manchester United.
“It is very hard,” he admits. “I’m nearly 23 and I need to be playing games. There is a lot of pressure at Manchester United. The manager can’t really afford to throw me in because if you start to play young players for experience when you’ve got the likes of Giggs and Scholes, people start to ask questions.
“But there are a lot of games coming up, twice a week, so hopefully I’ll get a chance. In the end, I’m not really concerned (about the newspaper headlines a few weeks back) because I think if I start playing for Manchester United every game I’ll eventually play for Ireland every game.
“So I’m just going to concentrate on getting into the Manchester United team. Obviously I’m ready to play when I go away with Ireland, if I don’t get picked I’ll be on the bench and ready to come on, do what I can do.”
He is in the United squad for tomorrow’s Champions League trip to Valencia, and will be hoping to play.
He doesn’t, he admitted, expect to start for Ireland against Russia or Slovakia, with the manager’s preference for more defensively-minded players to anchor the central midfield having already resulted in Green being handed his opportunity in the opening games of the campaign.
“Obviously I’m disappointed with not playing,” Gibson conceded. “But Paul Green’s a very good player, he’s proved it in the Championship, he’s scored a lot of goals and obviously he’s playing every week, which I’m not. So I can see why Trapattoni picked him ahead of me.
“I think that when I play for Ireland I will have to adapt my game. Our defensive record’s very good and has been since Trapattoni came in. He likes his central midfielders to sit back and not really break forward as we do at United so, I think, to get into the Ireland team I will have to adapt my game. But if it’s going to get me in the team and let me play for Ireland then I’ll be happy to do it.”
The Derry man believes the team needs four points from the two games against their leading rivals for qualification and insists the target is realistic. Both matches will be difficult, though, with Russia needing a win in the wake of their home defeat by Slovakia and the Slovaks looking to build on that victory by going one better than the draw they secured late on the last time Ireland visited, under Steve Staunton back in September 2007, the night Gibson made his international debut.
“I remember drawing two each after being 2-1 up with maybe 10 minutes to go,” he says of a night when Ireland squandered what looked to be a strong position.
“So obviously it was a good night for me because I made my debut but a disappointing night too because we drew after leading.
“Obviously the squad’s changed a lot since that campaign, though,” he continued. “We’re a lot more organised in this campaign because the manager’s done a lot of work with us defensively.”
He is, in a sense of course, a victim of that shift in emphasis for under a more adventurous coach he would probably see a bit more action but he has no complaints.
“At the end of the day, it’s the manager’s choice what way he wants to play and his approach has worked for us but as I’ve said, I’m willing to go in and do a defensive job if that’s what he wants of me.
“ If it’s going to get me in the team, let me play for Ireland, I’ll be happy to do anything.”
Well, almost.
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