O'Brien determined to prove point
Andy O’Brien insists the Republic of Ireland are determined to prove a point to all the critics who have taken a swipe at the team throughout the current World Cup qualifying campaign.
Ireland find themselves in a perilous position, much of it of their own making as they have thrown away costly points en route to their current situation in which they now need to win their last two matches to remain in with a shout of reaching next summer’s finals.
The Republic led in Switzerland, only to finish with a 1-1 draw, before then conceding a last minute equaliser to Israel in Tel Aviv earlier this year.
But the most galling result came in early June when manager Brian Kerr’s side led the Israelis 2-0 at Lansdowne Road, but again only emerged from the game with a point.
It now means six points are required from Saturday’s clash with Cyprus in Nicosia, and at home to the Swiss on Wednesday, otherwise they can bid goodbye to their hopes of playing in Germany.
Portsmouth centre-back O’Brien feels that despite the harsh words they have listened to and read, the opportunity is still theirs for the taking, and they are eager to grab it with both hands.
“Football is about opinions from the top to the bottom, and with all the media and ex-footballers giving theirs, we find that many are contradictory,” countered O’Brien.
“That can motivate players to prove a point. Sometimes when you are going through a bad time it can be difficult, but it is how you cope with those disappointments.
“At the end of the day the actual game is about results and we know we have to get three points from this game to put us in the best possible position to face Switzerland.
“As a footballer you just concentrate on winning the next game, and that for us is Cyprus, and we are determined to do that.
“We will put Switzerland to the back of our minds because there are still a lot of ifs and buts, so all we can do is concentrate on ourselves.”
A lot of the opinion being bandied about centres on manager Brian Kerr who is widely expected to lose his job if he fails to qualify the team for the finals.
There is plenty riding on the result of Ireland’s next two games, albeit with O’Brien insisting the players would give their all regardless of who is in charge.
“With the greatest respect, that situation [with Kerr] is nothing to do with the players,” added O’Brien.
“It’s the powers above who decide who becomes a manager and who stays as manager.
“As a player you have a duty to do your best for whoever your manager may be, even if circumstances aren’t favourable towards you, be it at club or international level. That’s the way it is.
“Clearly we are optimistic, although if we don’t get the best result on Saturday then it may not be the end of the world.
“But we are building up towards getting those three points, and hopefully six overall, and then you can say at the end of the day we did what we needed to do.”
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