OMAN ARE IN town but the tenor and tone of Ireland’s training camp in Malahide has left no doubt: the focus this week is entirely on Sunday’s game against Georgia.
As per usual, Martin O’Neill declined to name his team at yesterday’s pre-match press conference though he did drop a few hints about his plans for this evening’s friendly.
The trick is to strike the right balance between fine-tuning his starting XI for Tbilisi and giving game-time to those players who are still working their way back to match fitness.
Darron Gibson falls into the latter category and O’Neill confirmed that the Everton midfielder will start after almost 11 months on the sideline with a cruciate injury.
Hull’s Robbie Brady is another who could do with a run while O’Neill is still trying to judge James McClean’s status. The winger, who is struggling to shake an ankle injury, hasn’t played for Wigan yet this season though he did train with his international team-mates this week.
For similar reasons Shay Given, back in the squad after two years of international retirement, and Rob Elliot are likely to split goalkeeping duties tonight at least.
One man who won’t feature is James McCarthy who sat out yesterday’s session with what O’Neill described as “blisters”, although he is expected to be fully fit in plenty of time for Sunday.
There are also question marks over Jon Walters but there was good news at least for captain and record goalscorer Robbie Keane who appears to have shaken off a niggly thigh problem.
It could always be better but O’Neill was not in the mood for excuses.
He said: “If you’re talking about physical preparation… there’s a few [more] in that group than you would like if we were going into this in absolutely and utterly top physical condition.
But mentally we’re tuned into the games and that’s really as important as anything.
“I think the lads are looking forward to it and it’s the start of the competition. From that viewpoint we’re as well-prepared as we possibly can be at this stage of the season.”
For O’Neill himself, this week has been a long time coming. A trip to Tbilisi is hardly the easiest opening to the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign and if the race for Group D’s second qualifying spot behind world champions Germany is as competitive as he expects, an impressive start is vital.
The hosts, managed by former Newcastle midfielder Temuri Ketsbaia, had a surprising home record in World Cup qualifying, holding France to a 0-0 draw and only losing to an 86th-minute goal against Spain.
“For me, it has been a long time,” O’Neill said. “It’s something that I’ve never been used to, to play a competitive game eight or nine months after you’ve joined up.
“Any job that I’ve gone to at club level, if you weren’t starting at pre-season, you’d be stepping into a job and playing a competitive game within a couple of days.
“So this is the first competitive game. We want to start and start as strongly as we possibly can, and try to get some points on the board if it’s at all possible in a group that’s going to be tight. I think the four sides will be vying for that position.”
Mentally, the squad is in the right place. After tonight, O’Neill hopes that the final few pieces of the puzzle will fall into place.
As the time gets closer to the games, you can sense it now.
“This friendly game has come up to get a little bit of preparation in, but those boys who will not start the game but will be pretty well assured of playing on Sunday are already thinking about it.
“We’re into it. We’re trying to get ready. It’s a long road ahead but it’s a glorious place to end and that’s where we want to go.”
