As preliminary squad announcements before a reduction in that squad ahead of friendly matches in the run-up to a major tournament go, Martin O’Neill’s media appearance on Thursday in Dublin was pretty exciting.
O’Neill followed his customary path and named a large panel – 35 – for the game against Netherlands, but almost immediately announced that this would probably be reduced before the squad gather to build up to that game at the end of the month.
We might have wondered if we could go to that announcement instead, but we didn’t and instead got down to examining the long list. The one major surprise Callum O’Dowda may not even be among those who makes the friendly, but any Irish player such as Jack Byrne who wasn’t named on Thursday can probably make alternative arrangements for the summer.
O’Neill is likely to name his squad for France after the Netherlands friendly, but he could still wait until after the game against Belarus. He will be ruthless eventually, but not yet.
The manager feels it benefits players to be part of a squad rather than excluded and then called upon, but it results in few answers with the tournament only a month away.
We can probably live with the uncertainty, knowing that a reduced squad at this point might lead to other questions.
If we can deal with that, we can also manage with the doubts surrounding O’Neill’s contract as well as the possibility that he will be without his assistant Roy Keane if he is manager in the autumn.
O'Neill says 'fairly decent chance' if you're not in this squad, you're not going to the Euros
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) May 12, 2016
O’Neill said nothing new on either subject on Thursday, although when he suggested that Keane could “very well be” ready to return to club management, it was an indication that his assistant may be poised for other opportunities after the European Championships.
“If a really good opportunity comes up, I would wish him all the best,” O’Neill said and maybe Ireland should be as relaxed about O’Neill’s situation as O’Neill appears to be at the prospect of being without Keane.
Keane has been linked with Celtic again this week, but O’Neill did point out that he didn’t think there’d been an offer from the club.
“I think Celtic is one of the great clubs in the world and Keane is one of the great players in the world, so that’s not a bad fit for a start.”
It didn’t exactly answer the question if Keane could do the job, but O’Neill then went on to say he felt he could.
Keane would probably be better off with Ireland and Celtic might be better off elsewhere, but there is little downside, apart from the repeated questions at press conferences, to the current situation.
“I’m sure we’ll come to some sort of agreement soon,” O’Neill said, when he was asked about his own contract. Maybe the FAI will announce that O’Neill has signed a new deal before the tournament begins, but if they don’t, nobody should fret too much.
Ireland would be better off keeping O’Neill no matter what happens in the summer, but many countries enter tournaments with a manager whose contract will expire at the end of the competition, and they manage to come out the other side.
Some do well, some don’t, but few squads seem to fall apart because the manager’s contract ends with the competition. Perhaps if O’Neill’s contract expired halfway through the competition, there would be something to worry about, but unless that materialises then the news that there is no news should be greeted with a shrug. Ireland have had worse summers at major tournaments.
If Ireland do badly at the European Championships, many might be relieved that O’Neill is not on a long-term contract. If they do well, then it may cost a little bit more to keep O’Neill or he may walk into a club job, but Ireland will cope.
Calum O'Dowda has come out of nowhere to feature in Martin O'Neill's 35-man Ireland squad https://t.co/TAKsOziQdH pic.twitter.com/B0B1cFIY1t
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) May 12, 2016
If O’Neill did leave after a successful tournament, the team would be more attractive to a new manager anyway, while the players would also be boosted by the success.
Ireland needs to move away from the idea that there is a managerial saviour, even if a long run in the competition would see O’Neill viewed in those terms.
The curiosity is as much because of the delay in extending something which appeared to be a formality considering there was a willingness from both sides.
Last summer, O’Neill talked about the Ireland job as something that would take time.”I would have thought that generally, you would go for two campaigns. It is difficult in one competition to put across a manager’s ideas and make progress.”
At that time, O’Neill also revealed that the FAI had wanted him to take a four-year deal, but he wanted to see how the first campaign went.
The last few months of qualifying with Ireland in particular saw those ideas take shape and a new contract would promote stability, but O’Neill may find things stable enough as it is.
When he was asked about Keane, he mentioned that “I don’t think he would give things up here lightly” and the same might be said of the manager.
If Ireland have a good tournament, clubs may want O’Neill, but maybe he would decide that international football and another campaign is what he wants.
When he took over the Ireland job, he seemed to be understandably annoyed by what happened to him at Sunderland. He had lost the job and an unstable man with fascist tendencies had taken his place. At that stage, he looked like a man who longed to return to club football at some stage.
Perhaps he still feels the same way, but it is hard to know where he would go in the Premier League.
Maybe a struggling club would approach him mid-season having sacked the manager or there would be interest from a relegated side like Norwich, but none of it seems so appealing that he would give things up lightly in Ireland.
Both sides have some freedom if things continue to be unresolved. The most alarming consequence is that players will be asked about it constantly, but they are all pretty good at answering questions without saying much, producing noise rather than anything of consequence. It will have no bearing on how they perform at the tournament.
When O’Neill was asked on Thursday, how he would cope if Keane left, he rolled out one his trademark gags.
“Up until a couple of years ago, Roy Keane wasn’t really in my life and I survived.”
Ireland will survive at the European Championships if Martin O’Neill doesn’t have a new contract by then or if Keane is leaving afterwards. There is no crisis. The situation is about as dramatic as this squad announcement.
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