Republic of Ireland manager Steve Staunton admits he regrets landing a one-game touchline ban but does not expect his absence to hamper chances of victory in Cyprus on October 7th.
The 37-year-old was dismissed from the dug-out in the Euro 2008 qualifying loss to Germany on September 2nd. He kicked a bottle of water in anger with 15 minutes of the game remaining and was admonished by referee Luis Medina Cantalejo. Staunton will be forced to watch from the stands when the Republic head to Nicosia next month.
"Of course I regret it," Staunton said at the FIFA World Cup Symposium in Berlin yesterday. "It was a silly thing to do. It was just my frustration on the night. I felt my players had done enough to get a point for us. The lads put in a strong, a good performance. (But) I learned from it. It has happened, it is gone, it's history and there is nothing I can do about it. I got the one-match ban and I just have to get on with it."
Staunton is confident his troops can cope with his absence.
"It is not a nice thing to happen but I don't think it is going to affect us in any way," he added. "I'll be there to train them for the three or four days that we've got them and in the end there is not a lot I can do anyway once they cross that white line. So I am expecting another strong, positive performance."
The former Republic defender had come under fire following a 4-0 home thrashing at the hands of Holland in mid-August. His players responded with a strong performance against Germany, losing just 1-0, yet Staunton feels the pressure has not eased.
"There is pressure with every job," he stressed. "If you don't win games there is pressure with it. You just have to take it and get on with it. We have to go to Cyprus and win and that is all we can do. We have to get a win really if we are going to do anything in this group."
Staunton admitted he was impressed by Germany's 13-0 thrashing of San Marino - even though he does not consider the three-time World Cup winners invincible. "Every team can be beaten. We put it up to the Germans, particularly in the first half, and I think it shocked them a little bit. Once you get a roll going of winning games you feel invincible and that is where the Germans are at this moment of time."
Staunton is on three-day break in Berlin where he is participating in a Fifa/Uefa coaching workshop. "It is fantastic for my development to come here and you've got all the top coaches in the world," he added. "I can only learn from them . . . Hopefully over the next couple of days I will pick up a few points."
