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The more things change, the more they stay the same. New manager, new regime, same question; Coleman or Doherty?
The eternal question of Irish football. Who do you play with on the right back? Seamus Coleman or Matt Doherty? Your captain or your best player?
Stephen Kenny did his best to answer the question, without revealing how he’s thinking heading into next week’s vital Euro 2020 play-off against Slovakia.
“These are good problems,” Kenny said at today’s press conference.
“Seamus has been in good shape, there’s no question and that’s a good sign. We will do what we think is right for the game itself. They are both versatile players, Matt Doherty and Seamus Coleman are great assets and that’s what we want. “.
It took Mick McCarthy less than an hour in an exposed windy field in Gibraltar to decide that Doherty and Coleman could not join the same team, however the fact that Kenny sees versatility as a positive shows that the manager may be thinking in a way of including both their captain and the marauding side in the starting XI.
Kenny selected four in a row at the rear in his first two games as Ireland’s manager, and if that option were to be opted for in Bratislava next week, you might imagine he will have to leave one of the players on the bench.
However, the manager emphasized after the Nations League double that he was not married to any particular system, and since he struggled with his defense in both games, it would certainly offer a route back to the team for Coleman.
Doherty, of course, got the go-ahead for those two games, the draw in Bulgaria and the home loss to Finland, and it’s no coincidence that the new Spurs signing wasn’t as effective when asked to play in a quarter. flat.
The Dubliner thrives on the freedom he gets when he is selected as a full-back licensed to bomb forward at every opportunity, and with attacking football on the agenda of the new Ireland coach, he may well look to change the formation to suit the duo.
“Seamus has been a great captain for Ireland and a great player and he’s started the season well, Matt finished the season brilliantly with the Wolves, he scored quite a few goals.
“In the last few games for us he was in preseason mode and I thought his best game for Tottenham was last weekend, he really looked back. That bodes well.
“I would consider anything. I have a clear idea of what I want, but I am not going to say what system I will use against Slovakia, but the options are there and there is flexibility in the team to do that, so it is a good position to be in.”
Naturally, Kenny was not going to share his tactics or formations ahead of such an important game, yet he answered yes when asked if he believed that both Coleman and Doherty could play on the same team.
“Me?” Kenny reflected.
“I make.”
Despite the poor results of the first games of the Kenny era, the new manager was positively optimistic before the trip to Slovakia, encouraged by the fact that a large majority of his team have been playing regularly since the opening games. of September.
The form of the club will undoubtedly be a deciding factor as the manager looks to pick a team that creates and converts opportunities next week, and Callum Robinson’s double against Chelsea last weekend will have alerted the manager to another option. for the attacking player who led the line. good for West Brom.
Likewise, Aaron Connolly has shown his versatility, playing in a variety of forward roles for Brighton and the Galway native possesses real speed, which is something Kenny sees as a real asset in international football.
“I was pleased that Callum Robinson scored two goals against Chelsea last weekend, playing as a center forward.
“We haven’t always seen Callum as a center forward because he did a lot of his good work at Preston and West Brom last year in larger areas, particularly on the left. And that’s good news, we need it.
“I think [Aaron] it’s another option and it’s good to have options. International speed is very important and it’s great to have that speed that Aaron has.
“He has come a long way in a short time and I am delighted for him. He has gone from the Under-21s to the Premier League over the last year and he is doing very well.
Kenny revealed, however, that certain players on the team will need to be screened prior to the trip to Slovakia, including Robbie Brady, who is suffering a rib injury, while also confirming that Troy Parrott was unavailable as a result of a new injury. .
“I’m much happier now than in the last window, for example Shane Duffy had played a league game for Brighton in nine months,” Kenny said.
“We are happy that the players are playing regularly in their first teams. It is very different than a month ago when the players were in preseason mode, they had not played a game.
“Troy is injured,” added the coach. “He came back from a thigh injury and injured an ankle, so it’s very unfortunate.”
“We cannot say with real certainty that both [Brady and Callum O’Dowda] It will be OK.
“Obviously, Callum O’Dowda got injured and Robbie Brady missed Sunday’s game with a rib injury, so we’ll have to see how it goes. But there is some distance between now and Sunday’s game, so we’ll see how. goes.”
Sunday’s game, however, will bring its own problems as nearly half the team will play for their clubs on Sunday, disrupting Monday’s training sessions, and the coach will lose a day with his players. to prepare for the play-off.
“We hope there are no disruptions with Covid-19 and with injuries over the weekend.
“The only problem is that at least 11 of the players are playing on Sunday. That’s unusual. Normally there would only be one or two players.
“Half of the squad will play on Sunday and that rules out training on Monday. We fly on Tuesday and the game is on Thursday.
“So we have very little preparation time, which poses a logistical problem. But we will make sure we are ready. We will have to prepare in other ways.”
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