David Forde and Darron Gibson paid price for lack of action at club level
Republic of Ireland assistant coach Roy Keane during a press conference
at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Little Island, Cork. Photograph: Brian
Lawless/PA Wire
Roy Keane
has admitted that Ireland’s performance against Belarus was well short
of what had been hoped for but says that most of those who missed out on
the travelling party for the European Championships paid the price for
not playing at club level rather than their performance on Tuesday
night.
David Forde and Darron Gibson
were the most obvious victims of the post-match cull at Turner’s Cross.
Of the pair, the Millwall goalkeeper appears to have been the hardest
for the management team to let down although Keane says that the
36-year-old would have known his place was in considerable jeopardy.
“We are weighing up all the options,” he said, “lads
who went on the tour to America, lads who didn’t; lads who are good
around the hotel, the bus, all of that comes into the decision making.
Fordey has been very good with that and last night when he was leaving
the hotel, you had to feel sorry for the guy. That’s the cruelty of
sport.
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“I don’t know anyone who has a bad word to say about
Fordey but he has missed out on first team action. If you spoke to him,
he’d say he knew he was under the cosh to make that 23. But it was a
difficult call to make.”
It is not clear how the Galwayman viewed his chance
to get on late in the friendly game but if some of the others thought
they were playing for their places, Keane suggests, some of those who
kept them had some cause for relief.
“They should be after one or two of their
performances,” he said. “But everyone is entitled to an off night and
that’s what it was. It was a strange day yesterday as everyone knew the
manager had to finalise the squad and that can play tricks on your mind.
That’s not an excuse. First of all as a footballer, you have to try and
control the football.”
Asked about Gibson, he said that they Everton
midfielder had a bit of a mountain to climb heading into the game after
the season he has had at Goodison Park. “He got that opportunity but
whatever Gibbo did last night, unless he got a hat-trick, he might have
struggled to change the manager’s mindset.
“The manager has been up front with Gibbo, he’s not
played much football. There might have been one or two opportunities for
him to go out on loan which didn’t happen for one reason or other. You
probably have to ask the manager about that but he’s not played much
football and that was always going to make it difficult for him.
“You could say the same about Aiden (McGeady) but he
has had a taste of football at Sheffield Wednesday.
He did take that
decision to leave Everton and take action. A lot of people do sit around
and, say that’s not the right move for me. My reaction to Aiden’s
performance, I think he can do a lot better but maybe that’s the story
of Aiden’s career.”
As for some whose below-par performances this week
have been attributed to recent injury problems, the Corkman was
characteristically frank: “Sometimes we fall into making excuses for
players that ‘they’ve not played football’. But they’re still training,
they still have to control the ball and run. You can forgive a lack of
match sharpness but you’ve got to get yourself in a good shape, eat
properly, prepare properly. You’re playing international football,
control the bloody ball. Pass it and move to your mates. If you lose it,
run back.
“People talk about players carrying knocks but I’m
worried when players aren’t carried knocks. You’re supposed to pick up
knocks tackling people, hitting them at pace. Hitting them hard. It’s
not chess you’re playing.”
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