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Republic of Ireland have once again failed to impress under new manager Martin O’Neill

Republic of Ireland have once again failed to impress under new manager Martin O’Neill after getting only a 1-1 draw in the recent game against Scotland.

This was seen as an important match for the national team and its manager O’Neill. For a long period of time after his appointment, the former Aston Villa manager was unable to get any competitive action due to the presence of major international tournaments. Now, though, Ireland have an opportunity to be part of a major tournament themselves. The national team are involved in the Euro 2016 qualifying matches.

It has not progressed well so far after the Irish find themselves significantly below the qualification places after a string of poor results. Ireland have simply not been able to find the back of the net consistently in order to win matches. The team are two points behind Scotland, who occupy the final qualification spot, and even the Scots do not have a berth in Euro 2016 confirmed since the third placed team will have to go through the play-offs. O’Neill reckons that the intensity has been lacking from the team in recent games and the upcoming match against England will serve as a perfect recipe to kick up the players. Continue reading Republic of Ireland have once again failed to impress under new manager Martin O’Neill

Robbie Keane best Days are Over

At the age of 34, Robbie Keane’s best days are over as he is now reaching the twilight years of his career with maybe a few more seasons left in him before eventually deciding to stop his playing career and hang up his boots.

However, even at his elevated age, Martin O’Neill believes that the veteran attacker is the best option that Republic of Ireland has in order to find their goals.

Robbie Keane is the oldest player in the entire Republic of Ireland squad and the head coach, Martin O’Neil believed that Robbie Keane would stop performing at a high level after he decided to make a switch from Tottenham Hotspur over to the MLS side Los Angeles Galaxy but Martin O’Neil has now backed and supported once more Keane.

Martin O’Neil expressed his support towards Robbie Keane as he spoke during a press conference and the manager said: “When he went to America, there was a feeling that Robbie may have run his course with Ireland. Looking from a distance and without giving it any fantastic consideration at the time, I thought maybe that was it for him. I considered his Premier League days to be over and his international career as well, but then he said he wanted to carry on playing for Ireland when I came into the job; watching him training, his enthusiasm is there is abundance.’’ Continue reading Robbie Keane best Days are Over

Martin O’Neill feels that Rangers not Dealt good

Republic of Ireland and former Celtic manager Martin O’Neill says that he feels Rangers may have been harshly treated by the football authorities back in 2012 after accumulating a lot of debt.

The former Scottish champions were relegated to the bottom tier of the Scottish football pyramid. They have since worked their way back to the Championship, but the possibility of returning back to the Premier League still remains some way off.

After an extended absence, the old firm derby will be returning to Scotland with Celtic taking on Rangers in a League Cup semi-final match. Continue reading Martin O’Neill feels that Rangers not Dealt good

Shay feels win against America is Impressive

A few people might not be taking Ireland’s win against America that seriously, but, Shay Given reckons that the win in that game was important for him and his teammates in order to have some momentum going forward.

Ireland had been beaten by Scotland last month in Glasgow which had seen them slipping down to the 4th position in their Euro qualifying group, that is, Group D.

But, they recovered from that loss well as they thumped the Yanks by 4 goals to 1 in a friendly fixture.

It was clinical stuff by the Irishmen, but, people are refusing to get too much into it saying that it was only a friendly game.

According to Shay Given though, after what happened against Scotland, his team was eager to make sure that they get the season done with a better result.

Talking to the press, the veteran goalie said, “There’s always a good feeling when you win the last game of the season. Yes, I know we are not playing any match in the next three months; still, this win is important from momentum point of view. We, as a team, would feel good when we recall what happened when we had last stepped onto the field. You never want to see the season getting over with a loss, do you?”

The America game was Shay Given’s 127th one in Ireland colours. He had made his debut for his country 18 years ago, yes 18 years ago.

For the last couple of years, he had been out of International scene. He had actually retired, but, then, he came back to help Ireland get qualified for the World Cup. He did not play in the World Cup qualifiers though, but, eventually, in August this year, he was called back in the squad for the game versus Oman.