THE BILLBOARDS around Dublin describing Giovanni Trapattoni as Ireland’s 12th man are a reminder of how important the role is supposed to be.
It’s routinely regarded as something of a badge of honour within the game, with Sevilla’s home ground long honoured with the title among national team supporters and, back at home, Shamrock Rovers fans rewarded with it for saving the club.
Just now, though, Paul McShane remains on course to be Ireland’s 24th man for the European Championships in Poland which would, if the status is confirmed over the next couple of weeks, hold little consolation for the defender who gradually drifted to the margins of the manager’s thinking over the course of the qualification campaign before missing out entirely on his squad for the finals.
To judge by the 26-year-old’s performance at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday, however, the player is not giving up on making the all-important final list of 23, though news that he sat out the first training session in Montecatini yesterday was a slight concern.
McShane didn’t benefit from the first enforced reshuffle of Trapattoni’s panel on Saturday night when Paul Green was drafted in for the injured Keith Fahey. A measured display at right-back against Bosnia, though, has reinforced his position as next in line in the event that somebody else – most obviously John O’Shea – is forced to withdraw between now and kick-off time in the Croatia game.
“The situation is a little bit strange,” he admitted on Saturday after starting the 1-0 win, “but football changes really quick. I didn’t expect to be here at the start of the week, but I’m here now and happy enough.”
Trapattoni’s public line yesterday was that he will give O’Shea until next Monday to overcome the ankle problem which sidelined him at the weekend but in private he has apparently told McShane that he has “as much chance as any other player” of being in the squad he submits to Uefa in the end.
It’s not clear whether the comment was meant merely by way of encouragement but the player, who burst onto the international scene in some style under Steve Staunton, making his debut against the Czech Republic just days after the calamitous 5-2 defeat in Cyprus, knows ultimately he will get in if one of his team-mates is forced to go home early. “It’s very unfortunate,” he acknowledges, “but I know that myself – I’ve been in lots of situations where I’ve been injured coming into the squad. It’s up and down. You take your good luck. I’ve had a little bit of good luck here this week, so I just have to take it.”
One player whose welfare does not directly impact on McShane is Shay Given, who sat out the win over Bosnia with a knee injury, though he received a positive diagnosis on a visit to his specialist Andy Williams in London last week.
The Aston Villa goalkeeper watched Keiren Westwood produce another solid display between the posts in his absence but is confident he will be in a position to reclaim his place by the time the game against Hungary rolls around on June 4th. The Donegalman is keen to return to training on Wednesday. “We’ll just see how it is. There’s no rush but I’d like to get back as soon as I can obviously,” said Given.
On the pitch, it all looked good to Given. He spent plenty of times on the bench when at Manchester City but doesn’t often watch Ireland from the sidelines. This time he liked what he saw. “I think the way we played, I’m really happy with how we played. Their keeper made some great saves in the second half and it could have been two or three nil easily, and that gives us good belief and confidence, it’s always nice to go away with a win, for the fans as well today.”
Stoke City’s Asmir Begovic was the man in the Bosnian goal and he saw enough in the home side to suggest they could provide a test to Croatia, Spain and Italy in Poland. “I think Ireland can get out of the group, even though it is a tough section,” he said after a quick chat on the pitch with clubmates Glenn Whelan and Jonathan Walters. “They are very determined and they play with great spirit. That will be important in the finals.”
Whelan, he says, can deal with Luka Modric in Poznan. “When he plays for Ireland, you can see he does the same sort of job as he does with us at Stoke City. He covers in midfield and is very good in that role. I thought he played well against us.”
As for Walters, Begovic feels “Ireland were physically stronger in attack” with him on the pitch. “He is a very strong striker who can cause defenders problems. He did that against us and I felt he did well when he was on the pitch.”
