“We played good football the last time I was here and got some good results.”
Mick McCarthy says his Republic of Ireland team will attempt to mirror how his side played during his first stint as national team boss.
McCarthy was originally Ireland manager between 1996 and 2002, when he had players such as Robbie Keane, Roy Keane, Damien Duff and Steve Staunton at his disposal.
Of all the Ireland managers over the last 30-years, Mick’s team was arguably the least direct. They passed the ball and rarely resorted to the aimless lumps up the field that we witnessed from Martin O’Neill’s side and before that with Giovanni Trapattoni’s Ireland.
"At first I thought, 'you cheeky bollocks', to be quite honest"
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) November 26, 2018
At his unveiling as the new Ireland manager on Sunday, McCarthy said he hopes to reproduce the football from his first reign. He did admit though that the team won’t play in a traditional 4-4-2 formation, as greater numbers are now needed in central midfield.
“Did you enjoy watching us at the World Cup in 2002? I guess that’s the style of play,” McCarthy said.
“There’s real misconceptions about styles in football. I’ve always found winning football is generally the best. Especially with eight or 10 games to play, it’s always going to be about winning games.
“If we did that and we qualified then maybe we can get players in and do different stuff but my view has always been to play an attacking game.
“I played 4-4-2 the last time. That won’t be happening. I doubt that because of how football has changed. It’s all about dominating the ball in midfield.”
He seemed relaxed about it https://t.co/yBcaInIzSQ
— SportsJOE (@SportsJOEdotie) November 26, 2018
He also said he hopes to bring back an intimidating atmosphere to Ireland home games. The stadium has been revamped since McCarthy was last the manager in 2002, and the former Sunderland coach said he hopes to get the fans “back onside” and have the ground rocking.
“It’s always been such a wonderful experience, as a player, walking up the steps in Lansdowne Road with a tingle on the back of your neck,” he said.
“As a manager, it was the same. I was talking about playing at Lansdowne against Spain and we beat them 1-0, I think it was an own goal. I’ve still got a photo at home, I’m crushing [Emilio] Butragueno’s hand and he’s smiling at me – I think he was grimacing at me.
“We made the place an intimidating place. There were great games and great times and we did have it rocking. It’s my job to get that going again. It’s important that we get the fans back on side.
“I hope it’s a positive today that I’ve took over. We played good football the last time I was here and got some good results.”
