Having spent much of last week lamenting the rather foolish way in which Robbie Brady got himself suspended for the Wales game on Friday night, Martin O'Neill started this one by naming the Dubliner as his new captain for the Republic of Ireland's international friendly against Iceland on Tuesday night.
Whether the 25-year-old is to retain the armband while Séamus Coleman is laid up is not, the manager says, even something that he has had time to think about but the player seemed to relish the idea of captaining an Ireland side for the first time since his underage days.
“Obviously it’s a dream come true for me,” he said. “I’m looking forward to leading the lads out tomorrow and hopefully putting on a good performance and get a good win.
The circumstances in which he inherits the job are not ideal but he says the players will be there for Coleman as he embarks on the start of his rehabilitation process
“I have just captained at underage internationally. That would have been the last time I captained a side. So I’m really looking forward to tomorrow night.
Rehabilitation process
“I’m not sure what kind of captain I’ll be,” he continued when pressed on it, “I’ll just see how it goes. But I’ve played under some great captains and I previously played under a great captain in Séamus Coleman. So I’ll lead the team out tomorrow hopefully the best I can.”
The circumstances in which he inherits the job are not, he is the first to acknowledge, ideal but he says the players will be there for Coleman as he embarks on the start of his rehabilitation process in the coming weeks.
He is expected to get out of hospital later this week before returning to Liverpool to start the work under the supervision of his club.
“It has been disappointing obviously,” says Brady. “It’s always disappointing. We knew straight away when it happened but we are all there now to help him as best we can through it.”
Coleman’s absence and the departure of so many other players means that the team will look very different to the one that started against the Welsh.
With more options in midfield than defence it is possible that the Dubliner will revert to the left-back position while the likes of Aiden McGeady, Daryl Horgan and Jonny Hayes hope to grab one of starting slots in the wide positions that might be going.
Memorable performance
For at least two of them this game is of obvious significance with the prospect of an opportunity to get some game time for Ireland making it feel important to all the slightly peripheral players regardless of whether there are qualifying points at stake, something Brady completely understands.
It's a big opportunity for new lads coming in to stake a claim. I managed to impress in friendlies before I got a competitive start
The Burnley midfielder turned in a memorable performance in a forgettable game on his own senior debut against Oman in London back in 2012 but it took another two years, during which he made just two competitive appearances, before he finally started to nail down his place.
“It is a big game in a lot of respects,” he says. “I’ve enjoyed playing every single game for Ireland, including friendlies.
“It’s a big opportunity for new lads coming in to stake a claim. I managed to impress in friendlies before I got a competitive start and hopefully anyone who gets a run-out tomorrow manages to take their chance.”
