Soccer:Republic of Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni has strongly hinted that Stoke City striker Jon Walters will get the nod to partner skipper Robbie Keane in Friday's Euro 2012 play-off first leg against away to Estonia.
With Kevin Doyle and Shane Long ruled out through suspension and injury respectively, and Leon Best remaining in Newcastle to be at the birth of his first child, it looks like Walters will come in for his first competitive start in Tallinn.
Walters’s only previous appearance in a competitive international was as a substitute in the 2-1 victory over Armenia last month that secured Ireland’s play-off place. The 28-year-old replaced West Brom’s Simon Cox on that occasion, playing the last 10 minutes of the game at the Aviva stadium. During the brief appearance he looked lively, especially after Kevin Doyle was sent off soon after he came on.
That was Walters’s third cap after replacing Doyle at half-time in making his debut against Norway in a friendly back in November 2010 and playing the full 90 minutes against Wales in a Carling Cup clash in Dublin back in February. He has yet to score at international level.
Trapattoni sees Walters as a direct replacement for the suspended Doyle, with Cox a like for like replacement for Keane, whom he replaced against Armenia.
“Cox is a little bit the same as Robbie,” said Trapattoni after holding the first training session of the week in Malahide today. “Walters is different, not like Doyle, but in that position, he is maybe similar.”
For his part, Walters is desperate for a chance to show what he can do on the big stage. Asked what starting the game would mean to him, he said: “It would mean a lot.
“It’s such a big opportunity. Circumstances have forced a change and you have got to take these chances when they come along with both hands. You can’t just let them pass you by.
“Hopefully I will play a part of the game and if I do, hopefully I will do well enough to get the right result for the team.
“I have had no hint, but I know circumstances being what they are, there are very few of us who can play. But if not selected, then hopefully I will be on the bench and play a part in the game.”
Walters is confident he can provide a foil for Keane, but insists he will do whatever is required of him.
He added: “Yes, why not? I have played with so many strikers over the past few years, five or six in the past year while I have been at Stoke.
“I think a big attribute of my game is adaptability and playing with different players and linking up, so hopefully I can do that, if selected.
“Whoever I am playing with or whatever position I am playing, I just try to help the team along the way, and hopefully if I do get a chance to score myself, I will. But more unselfishly, it’s about getting the results we need.
“You have got to look at the bigger picture — it’s about qualifying. Whoever plays and whoever the manager selects, that’s the most important thing, not any player.”
Trapattoni has not given up hope of having defender John O’Shea available for the second leg in Dublin next Tuesday after conceding defeat that the Sunderland player might make Friday’s first leg.
“We will wait for John O’Shea. He is not fit for this [the first] game, but he will come with us on Saturday.”
Trapattoni was quick to warn his players that they can take nothing for granted against Estonia, the lowest ranked team in the play-offs.
“In these games, we have a great opportunity, but we are also aware that we are facing a team that has very good organisation on the pitch and we should not underestimate them.
“We will have to show our pride. I am proud of our team and it will be very important for us to show all the Irish people our quality, our mentality and our attitude. Only with this attitude, we can get over these 180 minutes and achieve qualification.”
Favouritism does not sit well with Trapattoni, who arrived at his opening press conference armed with an apposite phrase.
Referring to a note he had made earlier, he said: “It’s important we don’t jump the gun. Be careful of the cat. Don’t say you have the cat in the sack when you don’t have the cat in the sack.
“Why should we be superior? They [Estonia] have played many, many games and they have achieved good results against strong teams. Their philosophy as a group is very strong, their discipline and their mentality.”
Trapattoni has spent days poring over DVDs of the Estonians and will use the time before his squad heads out to Tallinn on Thursday drilling his players on the fine detail of his plan to beat them.
He said: “We need to have patience. We must prepare every little detail because with these little details, we can achieve this result.”
Trapattoni is delighted that Keane has proved his return to fitness, with a goal in LA Galaxy’s 3-1 MLS Cup semi-final defeat of Real Salt Lake at the weekend.
Asked if he was surprised at the striker’s swift recovery, he said: “I am not surprised because it was not a bad injury, thank God.
“It was important when he didn’t play [against Armenia]. I said to him, ‘You are the doctor yourself’, and Robbie said, ‘It’s better I don’t play and maybe I can play in this situation’.”
