“I might take a tennis racket with me” – Mick McCarthy on rumours of fan protest at Georgia game

“I might take a tennis racket with me!"

Mick McCarthy spoke to the assembled media ahead of the Republic of Ireland's game with Georgia. And was asked about a protest that is said to be planned for Tuesday's game. According to The Times, some fans are planning to throw tennis balls on to the Aviva Stadium pitch to disrupt the Euro 2020 qualifier as a protest against the governance of the FAI. When asked about the rumours at FAI HQ at Abbottstown on Monday morning, the Ireland manager urged fans to support the team. “I’ve been at Charlton when people have done it," McCarthy said. "It’s not going to help us play any better. I hope they support us. If they want us to have the biggest chance of winning, support us.

“I might take a tennis racket with me!

“Do it somewhere else and another time," he continued.

“Unless it’s guaranteed that there’s going to be one, I’m not going to talk about one. I’m not going to talk about it again. We’re coming to play a game and that’s my issue. “If we do, people will think a lot happier about us and the team. That’s all I want. The mood is great when the fans are behind us and that’s my job to get that back and that’s all I can influence.”

The Ireland manager was back in Dublin after Saturday's hard-fought win over Gibraltar in the team's opening Euro 2020 qualifier on Saturday evening. Jeff Hendrick's goal settled a tie that proved difficult. It was an awful game devoid of any real quality played in challenging conditions. Ireland were up against the team ranked 177th in the world on an artificial surface, with a rock behind one goal and an aeroplane landing strip behind the other end as a gale-force wind whipping across the pitch. A 1-0 win over such a poor side seems underwhelming, and it was. But there were enough mitigating circumstances to give the team the benefit of the doubt. If Ireland record a win over Georgia on Tuesday night in Dublin, an opponent that have caused trouble for Ireland in the past, then the international break will be a successful one. The national team will have six points on the board before facing the better sides in the group later this year, Denmark and Switzerland.