World Cup Qualifier
24.03.2001 at 00:00 - Lefkosia Nicosia
Mick McCarthy needs his players to bring three crucial ingredients into battle at the Azadi Stadium in Tehran today - character, perspective and a positive approach.Whenever we ventured into a tough away assignment in Europe in my Liverpool days, our pre-game attitude was always the same - be together. For the Republic of Ireland, this is not a day for fancy flicks or outrageous swandives. The psychological edge lies with McCarthy's side - it would be suicidal to give it away cheaply.
The Irish manager, now a real talking point in English football, would have bitten my hand off if I'd offered him a 2-0 home advantage after the first leg. Away from the press conferences, he'll acknowledge that Ireland will have only themselves to blame if they do not finish the job today.
And the way to finish off the job is with a positive attitude; nothing cavalier but a basic understanding that once they keep their nerve, they should progress to the finals.
Their group record of eight wins and three draws confounded all the pundits. Publicly I said 'never write off the Irish' when I saw them drawn with Portugal and Holland, but deep down I didn't give McCarthy's men a prayer of coming out of the group. Now, with the hard work done, they must see out the job. There's no point in talking things up too much - it is only Iran they are playing - and eight times out of ten, you'd take the Republic to see them off.
That may not find agreement with the manager, but he has to have a healthy respect for the opposition. If Ireland went to Iran ten times with a two goal lead, I'd expect them to see it out every time.
However, talk is easy from where I'm sitting and Ireland's play-off record will clearly play on their nerves - especially if they give a goal away in the opening twenty minutes.
Which is where positive thinking comes in. McCarthy may not have a fully fit Niall Quinn, but it will give out an encouraging signal to the Iranians if he plays with only one striker and floods the midfield. The Irish manager cannot retreat into his shell at this stage. He has been bold so far, and it is incumbent on him to play two up front and gamble that an Irish goal will silence the crowd - and kill off the tie.
To lose out, Ireland will have to go down by three clear goals and you can't see that happening - even without Roy Keane.
Besides, McCarthy deserves to go through to the finals. Let's be frank - he's not been blessed with world class talent, save the two Keanes, yet he has cobbled together a new side high on effort and camaraderie, and turned them into a real world force again. Anyone in the English game can tell you about the togetherness of the Irish side, but that does a disservice to the football they play.
Those who were calling for McCarthy's head in mid-campaign should be locked up.
Today he is without Steve Carr and Damien Duff, and a back four that on paper is nothing special. I know Steve Staunton of old - a footballer's footballer who only ever wanted a fair day's pay for the effort he puts in. His strength is in his reading of the game, and though his pace is pretty much gone, he can compensate with great positioning. I've seen some back fours in Europe that look massive on paper, but couldn't stop an articulated truck. It's more about the unit than the individuals.
In certain circumstances the loss of Roy Keane would be catastrophic, but Kinsella and Holland is a formidable midfield pairing to front the back four, and ensure that the Irish don't get done by an early sucker punch.
I don't think they will. And I expect the Irish to score and put 100,000 Iranians out of their misery.
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