The players are 100% behind Stan

On the face of it, they might not seem like the most terrifying opposition – but you would have said the same about Cyprus and San Marino, and we all know what happened there. We’ve got to be objective: the fact is that we’re up against two decent sides, with their fair share of good players, and both of them are capable of coming over and nicking all the points.
The danger is exacerbated because the Irish team is at a very low point right now. With the exception of the game against the Czech Republic, our performances over the last year have been disastrous. Clearly, if we’re to stay in the hunt, we need back-to-back wins, ideally with the sort of performances that might restore the nation’s trust in the team. But I’ll be very surprised if we get the six points.
Slovakia in particular will be a tricky assignment: they’re obviously no mugs, having won 5-1 in Cardiff, and they’ve quite a good record over the last few years. They’ll be aware that this is a good time to face the Republic, and I’m sure they’ll fancy their chances. At the moment, they look a better side than us.
The game against Wales will be a more traditional British-style affair, with two teams of roughly similar strength, who’ll be well familiar with one another’s players. It’ll be a physical, competitive, passionate encounter. I don’t think it’ll be a kick-and-rush affair with the ball being blasted over people’s heads, because that’s not Toshack’s style – and it’s not Staunton’s style either.
Their attacking options are what would concern me most. Bellamy, if he’s fit, has great pace, which is something our defence isn’t particularly good at dealing with. And then there’s Ryan Giggs who is still a superb footballer. In fact they’ve a lot of good technical players – so we’ve got to go after them. Here’s the encouraging part: their back-line isn’t great, as everyone saw when they lost 5-1 at home to Slovakia. John Toshack doesn’t have great options in that area, so if we can pressurise them into making mistakes we might just get a few goals. But to do that, we’ll need Robbie Keane and Damien Duff firing on all cylinders.
Hopefully, the Croke Park factor might come into play. I saw Ireland v England in the rugby and it was an incredible occasion, with an atmosphere that would have put any visiting team to the test. But to get that atmosphere going, the team will have to lift the crowd, rather than the other way round.
George Graham used to say that in club football you’re always six games from the sack, in international football you’re two games from the sack. Unless you’ve got a four-year contract in your back pocket, which of course Steve Staunton has. Even if we lose both games badly, I doubt that Stan will quit: it’s not his style. Obviously it wouldn’t be against the law to sack him, but it’d involve a big pay-out by the FAI and they wouldn’t like that one bit. And don’t forget that John Delaney said Stan would stay on even if we finished bottom of the group. Not the brighest thing he’s come up with given that San Marino are in it too!
One of the problems is that Steve has tended to come across as angry and defensive in press conferences, which just isn’t the person I know. He’s nothing like that. I’d like him to be far more light-hearted, and less suspicious of the press – but until he develops that skill, he might be better steering clear of the media.
Even if Steve were to go there’s no guarantee we’d get a decent replacement. It’s not really an attractive job. None of the managers in the Premiership would take it. The money is a lot less – in fact it doesn’t even pay as well as some Championship jobs. And it’s not as if anyone coming in has a wealth of players to pick from.
There’s no way a Steve Coppell or Paul Jewell – the kind of guys we need, who have delivered results with limited squads – would willingly cut their wages in half, especially in view of all the extra pressures that go with a national job. And most managers prefer dealing with players on a daily basis, whereas with international football, you only get together seven or eight times a year. The role is better suited to either an older fellow with lots of experience and nothing to prove, or a young manager with a big reputation from his playing days – the likes of Jurgen Klinsmann and Mark Hughes, who did very well.
But Mark Hughes left Wales for Blackburn, and Walter Smith quit Scotland to take the Rangers job. It’s the way things are going.
In his favour, Stan seems to be well liked by the players. When we scored against the Czechs, most of them ran over to the dugout and hugged him. It’s great to know that they're fully behind him. But now they owe him a performance or two.