PLAYERS MAY not get to decide who their next manager is but they do sometimes get the opportunity to create the vacancy. At a time when he was already under intense pressure, the Republic of Ireland manager, Giovanni Trapattoni breathed a huge sigh of relief when his hopes of holding onto his job were helped by his returning skipper giving him support at yesterday’s pre-match press conference.
A great deal of the interest in last night’s event in Tórshavn centred on whether Robbie Keane would join a growing list of critics. Instead the Dubliner came to the defence of his embattled boss with one of his more passionate media performances.
As the 73-year-old sat listening intently to his captain’s words being translated and clearly struggling to contain his delight, Keane steadfastly stood by his manager, insisting he should be allowed to see out the campaign and what remains of his contract.
Key to the tone of the questioning and the content of the answers were the reports that Stephen Kelly had had a row with the manager and his assistant, Marco Tardelli, after realising he was again to be omitted from the team for tonight’s game.
It is not, it is safe to say, the first time Trapattoni has been embroiled in such an altercation with a “disappointed” squad member.
There is more than one version of what is supposed to have been said when the matter came to a head but Kelly, the Italian suggested, had said that he would have to consider his position, something that raised the prospect of another player making himself unavailable.
In the end the matter was resolved, at least to the extent that the defender travelled to the Faroes and trained last night.
Still, those who believe Trapattoni has been losing his grip on things inevitably saw the incident as further evidence of his deteriorating relationship with the group.
His core players, though, remain loyal it seems and Keane seemed to be speaking for them when he insisted he wants to see Trapattoni stay and that the Kelly episode has been overblown.
“Of course we are (behind him),” he said. “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 his contract and of course the players want to see that continue.
“We have played two games and lost one against Germany. And people did not expect us to win that game.
“As players you try to go out and do your best. The lads tried their best on Friday and it was not good enough. They know they let themselves down and it was not good enough.”
Keane made it clear that he feels Trapattoni has earned loyalty and it should be shown. It may not make the slightest difference but if the FAI do choose to press ahead with replacing their manager, John Delaney will not it seems after this be able to say, as he likes to, that the thinking of the senior players contributed to the decision-making process.
