TRAP UNHAPPY WITH LONG

The Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni has criticised the claims made by the striker Shane Long that his fitness is not up to the mark. Republic of Ireland were set to face Serbia in a friendly match on Wednesday. Shane Long was in the squad as one of the recognised members of the first team. However, he pulled out of training in the final few moments claiming that his calf has been giving a lot of problems in recent times. As a result, Giovanni Trapattoni had no other alternative but to include Simon Cox as his replacement prior to the match.

After the match, the Republic of Ireland manager criticised the claims made by the striker saying that he was not fit ahead of this match. Republic of Ireland could only manage a 1-1 draw and the manager was visibly frustrated that he was not able to use his first-team player in the match. Giovanni Trapattoni also confirmed that Shane Long would have started the match had not been for the fitness fiasco in the final few moments leading up to the preparation. As a result of not feeling his preferred starting line-up, Trapattoni was unable to get the desired result in this friendly match.

“He said ‘I have pain’ and now he says he is fit – that is idiotic. He is no baby. The doctor was worried, and they did a scan in hospital. For me, it is impossible to understand this. He could say, ‘I am ready’, before the game,” said Giovanni Trapattoni after the match. It is thought that the striker made this decision not to be part of the friendly match in order to be fit in time for the opening match of the Premier league season. The West Brom striker will be facing Liverpool on the opening day.

LAWRENSON WRITES OFF CHANCES

Former Republic of Ireland and Liverpool defender Mark Lawrenson has written off the hopes of Republic of Ireland qualifying for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil. The nation – under manager Giovanni Trapattoni – created history this summer after qualifying for the Euro 2012 after a gap of 10 years. Even though they failed to get past the group stages of the competition, there is real belief within the country that they will be able to once again qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup. However, former Liverpool defender Mark Lawrenson, who is currently working as a pundit for BBC, has written off the hopes of Republic of Ireland making it into this major tournament.

In order to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, the Republic of Ireland should first negotiate teams like Germany and Sweden in the qualifying group. Mark Lawrenson reckons that it will be extremely difficult for Giovanni Trapattoni to once again repeat the magic due to the concerns about the age of the squad. A number of high profile players within the team are nearing the end of their high-profile careers. Lawrenson doubts whether they will be around to give their best in the next two seasons.

“It’s a very tough group. It’s going to be extremely difficult. I think Germany have looked the best team in Euro 2012, that’s including Spain. So it’s going to be very difficult for Ireland even to finish second, I don’t see them qualifying for 2014. I think it may be a while before they ever qualify for anything again. They haven’t got that many players to pick from, a lot of players are from the Championship, and they actually need a group of players who are all good Premier League players to come through together,” said Lawrenson.