Irish fans have been constantly reminded (as if we needed to be) with every match report, every picture and every news bulletin of the fact that we are simply bystanders, spectators, like children looking in through the window at a party to which we haven't been invited. The greatest sporting spectacle on earth has been taking place and the World Party Champions have been very conspicuous by their absence. The glorious triumphs, not to mention glorious draws and defeats of Euro '88, Italia '90 and USA '94 seem a distant memory. Saint Jack has hung up the halo and picked up the rod and Captain Fantastic has been given the task of guiding a new generation of boys in green to the centre stage of world football. Having narrowly missed out on qualification for France '98 the Green Army are currently dusting off their passports and brushing up on their Croatian, Yugoslavian, Macedonian and Maltese!
In an exclusive interview with kickin', Mick McCarthy takes time out from planning our Euro 2000 qualifying campaign to give an update on our progress and tells why he is so confident that the glory days are just around the corner.
Mick, you've had time to reflect since the Mexico game. Are you happy that you have a starting lineup in mind for the beginning of our Euro 2000 qualifying campaign?
Yes, I've more or less settled on a squad of around 24 players. My intention coming into the job two years ago was to achieve this. I don't think there will be any more additions to it and knowing that will help settle the players who are in the squad. We have top quality players in every department from goalkeepers up and I'm very happy with that.
Would you have preferred to have played another friendly, maybe to try to integrate some of the older players with the younger, less experienced ones?
It was impossible to get another friendly organised at the time. Players had just finished a long season, the Mexico game had taken place towards the end of May and another friendly would have meant dragging their season into June. Pre-season training begins in July, they need a break. Integration is no problem for the older players and the younger ones are experienced enough to cope.
What would you say to critics who maintain that some players, Gary Kelly for instance, are being played out of position?
I'm not prepared to pigeonhole players, especially those who can play in a couple of positions. Gary is a great right-back but he has been brilliant at wide right both for Ireland and Leeds. He puts over some great crosses and that is invaluable to us. The only problem I can see with moving him around is that he might lose the defensive mentality. Jason McAteer went to Liverpool as a central midfielder, a real box-to-box player. Playing at wing-back for so long he seems to have forotten what midfield play is like. Curtis Fleming has done a fantastic job at right -back and I like to keep my options open.
Would you have any qualms about starting Duff and Keane in a crucial qualifier?
None at all, they've both come through a transition period brilliantly and both face top-class opponents with their clubs from week to week in England.
What's the latest on our long term casualties, Roy Keane and Keith O'Neill?
Roy is fit, his pre-season training is going well and we'll all be watching out for his return to action at the start of the season. Keith's injury has healed and it's also a question of watching how he gets on in the first few matches of the season. So, fingers crossed!
Having watched Yugoslavia and Croatia in the World Cup, both of whom are in our group for the Euro 2000 qualifiers, were you impressed with what you saw?
I thought Yugoslavia were awesome, especially against Germany. In the first 45 minutes they were brilliant and Germany were very lucky to get back into the game. It just goes to show what a boost a goal can give a team. Croatia are very good offensively but they have some weaknesses in defence that we can certainly exploit. It's a tough group.
How far down the road are we in terms of transition?
In the play-offs against Belgium we looked more like the real thing and there was a very slim margin between victory and defeat. We had a more settled team and we performed. At this level you won't win too many games with just kids. Our home record has to be better, that's what let us down in our World Cup campaign. Saying that, we only really played badly in a couple of games - the one in Macedonia stands out. We were very unlucky in others, in Romania for example. I think expectations sometimes exceed development but I can certainly understand the high level of expectation. I played in a World Cup quarter-final but being in the stadium in France, watching Croatia, the realisation of Ireland not being there really hit home. And I must say that the public have been hugely supportive during the difficult transition period.
Can we really expect to compete with the likes of Yugoslavia and Croatia?
We can compete with anybody. Yugoslavia and Croatia won't sit back like some of the weaker teams did against us. They'll make a game of it, which means it'll be more open and therefore more chances will be created. If a team has no intention of attacking and stays behind the ball for ninety minutes then no matter who they are they're going to be very hard to break down. In training if you pit eight or even nine attackers against six defenders in their own half, they'll never score. We have to be at full strength and then we'll be hard to beat. We can go out there, make it a shitty game and upset people, get at least a draw and maybe steal a win. We've done it in the past. Croatia and Everton defender Slaven Bilic has gone on the record stating that his countrymen don't relish playing teams from these islands.
Have you decided on playing four at the back?
Yes. I wasn't happy with the system during the Macedonia game. We changed to playing a flat back four for the Romania game and it worked better for us. It suits our defenders to play that way. Ian Harte and Kenny Cunningham have been outstanding for us at the centre, Phil Babb has had to make an impression and to be fair he came on against Argentina and did just that. Then there's Steve Staunton, a world-class defender who can easily slot into left-back or play wide right.
It seems likely that Steve Staunton will be leaving Villa some time during the summer. Are there doubts about players' loyalty to clubs these days?
In Steve's situation, he was going through a bit of a bad patch about 18 months ago and Villa tried to sell him. The only loyalty a player owes to his club is to turn up for training on time, do what he's told and give a hundred per cent on the pitch. When his contract is up he renegotiates or leaves. He has to be loyal to himself and his family. Things have definitely changed for the better where the player is concerned, but in the long term it could kill off some clubs.
You must be delighted with our recent successes at underage level.
Very happy, and a lot of it is down to Jack Charlton. By increasing the profile of the game he helped increase the participation. The more kids there are playing, the more the standard will improve. I remember in 1984 being among a group of Irish internationals waiting for the team bus at College Green in the centre of Dublin and not one person recognised us. Can you see that happening today?
How can we breathe some life back into the National League?
I watch quite a bit of League of Ireland football and the standard is definitely improving. One of the biggest problems is that most of our best youth players bypass Ireland and go straight to England. The League of Ireland misses out. There are about six or seven clubs in the Dublin region, not to mention Dundalk and Drogheda, and compared with England all the cities are relatively close to one another. This means that nearly every game is a local derby. All the players know each other and it makes matches very competitive and physically very demanding. Challenges going in are very hard and it's hard to play attractive football. English teams know how competitive League of Ireland sides are and that's why they play so many friendlies here.
Unfortunately there's no easy answer to this problem.
Any very talented young players that emerge are going to be asked over to England and their team mates want to see them doing well. Their clubs need the transfer money and it turns into a vicious circle.
Money needs to be pumped into all the clubs but with attendances being so low who's going to be prepared to do it? All credit to those working within the League and you've got to have a lot of respect for the players and fans.
Finally Mick, it's that old chestnut again. Should Wimbledon come to Dublin?
Well, the first question I ask myself is: would the public like to see Premiership football in Dublin? I think most people would say yes.
The next question is: would it be for the good of Irish football? It would have to be one hundred per cent an Irish team, living in Ireland and with all Irish players. But if Dublin was being used just as a base I think we would be prostituting ourselves.
© kickin' magazine 1998