WHAT ARE YOU up to? Are you looking for a job at the moment?
That’s what I’m trying to figure out at the minute. Obviously, I’m doing the coaching down with Rovers, that’s two nights a week, then we’ve a game on Saturday.
Obviously, I tried RTÉ a couple of weeks ago; that’s probably rich coming from me. I never liked punditry, I never liked pundits, but at the same time, you’re sitting at home and you need to go and try something, I guess. I always would have found that sort of thing difficult, so I put myself out of my comfort zone, put a bit pressure on myself.
For a week or two beforehand, I knew what game I was doing, so I was studying, trying to be the best and what have you, but it’s just something to focus on, because when you don’t have something to focus on, I guess it’s dangerous.
How do you think it went?
Well, I’m biased, obviously… I thought, they looked back at it with me, they do things right; I thought me being analysed was over with my football career being over, but no, the producer there looked back over it, talked to me about what he thought went well.
I wouldn’t change anything that I said; obviously. I like scratching heads and looking around at monitors and all that, even at the time I was doing it, I was thinking ‘my God, what am I doing.’
But I’ve done it twice now and I find the more the evening wears on, the more I ease into it, because at the start, it was nerve-racking. I found it (that way) anyway, but then you look at the three guys last night, they’ve been doing it for years and it’s like they’re just sitting at home having a chat. I thought it went well, I thought I gave a different point of view, maybe a modern insight into the game.
Is there a possibility you’ll be on board as a pundit for the Euros?
Possibly, we’ll see. I did enjoy it in a weird, sort of perverse way. That’s probably just me being out of my comfort zone; you’ve done okay then you come home and you’re, oomph, a bit relieved, happy it went well.
I’ll possibly do a Champions League game in the next couple of weeks, touch wood if that goes well then possibly I’ll do a couple of games during the summer.
Would you be comfortable analysing players you’ve played with in the Irish team?
Ah yeah, I’ve had a couple of offers from different people wanting to know if I’d do Irish games, but I’ve refused to, it wouldn’t sit right with me. I still have friends there; friendships that have been built up over a long period of time; not that I’d say anything negative about them anyway. But I wouldn’t risk it.
Do you think there might be room for more of the Carragher/Neville-type punditry on Irish TV, more modern analysis?
I think so. I love listening; I wouldn’t even watch the games on a Monday night but I’d watch from seven to eight just to listen to those two.
Like you said, a modern insight, I don’t know what game it was…..Kiev against City, the stuff like in Arsenal and Barca the night before, people trying to get a yellow card, people mightn’t see that, people mightn’t know that it goes on, but it does. It goes on all the time and people don’t know that, so if I could possibly give a little bit more insight into stuff like that, then yeah…
Would you see that as another way of keeping the football side of your brain ticking over?
Definitely. With RTÉ, if I didn’t like Darragh Maloney, I possibly wouldn’t have done it, but I found him a really great guy; he just texted me last night. I thought I was away from all of this after leaving football but he said, have a look at the three guys later, possibly learn or what have you.
I guess it’s like learning all over again for me. When I was playing football, I was probably doing it without thinking, so now I’m looking at games and thinking what has he done wrong, what would you do there, what was wrong, what was right.
It’s the same when I coach, a couple of weeks ago the manager asked me to go over and do a bit with the left winger and I was walking across to the other pitch and I was thinking, ‘I don’t even know what to say to him here because I didn’t even know how I had done it, it just happened, that was when I was at my best anyway.
I probably struggled when I started to think about my game, so yeah, whether it’s punditry or coaching, it’s kind of starting and learning all over again.
Did you ever pay any attention to what TV analysts said when you were playing for Ireland?
You always hear a snippet off someone but I always made a point to possibly not read papers and when you’re obviously playing, you can’t watch the TV anyway. I’m only getting to see them now, because I’ve never really had a chance throughout my career and I was in England as well.
Whether it be good or bad, if you start reading the papers looking for the good, you’ll always find bad and what have you. So in the end, I didn’t really read any.
How confident are you about Ireland at the Euros?
You have to be positive. I’m not going to be negative. Listen, knowing all the senior lads in the group, I know we had a disaster tournament in 2012 but we were as positive as anyone.
You can possibly say that after two minutes of the Spain game you might as well have packed your bags. I think they were 1-0 up and when they are 1-0 up, you’re just chasing. I’ve no doubt they will be well prepared.
It’s a tough group, but not as tough with the Sweden game. But if you get off to a good start there, I think anything can happen. They are a one-man team… (Ibrahimovic is) still a class act. But like I said, I don’t think the rest of the Swedish team are up to anywhere near his standards.
Italy will be a dark horse just because they are who they are and they have a top manager as well. Belgium are first in the world. I always find it strange, it doesn’t sound right, especially when Fellaini is playing for them.
But they have good players?
They do yeah, but whether they are that tight-knit group you see winning a championship, I don’t know. They flattered to deceive in the World Cup, so I dont know. Maybe if they had a bit of what Leicester City have, yeah, I would be all over them.
But Benteke, Origi, disappointing seasons. De Bruyne will be coming back from a similar operation to what I had and I’m still sore and that was two years ago… They have amazing players, but I don’t think they have togetherness that Ireland have.
Is it the Leicester City quality that’s our greatest strength?
Without a doubt, yeah. I think you saw that against Bosnia, albeit I was disappointed with Bosnia. We steamrolled them with hunger, desire and hard work, and it goes a long way as you can see with Leicester City.
Does the frustration of Euro 2012 still eat away at you?
“I think it’s possibly parked, yeah… I knew before the tournament that I would retire, so it would have been nice to go out on a better note. Even that summer, coming home, you didn’t want to leave the gaff, coming into town for a few pints, you just wanted to keep the head down. But that’s what you do in football. I’ve had bitter disappointment, I relegated Newcastle with an OG, but you move on.
Of the Irish team, Aiden McGeady in particular has had a difficult season. Did you ever doubt yourself and what advice would you give him?
Yeah, I had a lot of (doubts). I don’t know if Aiden gets them, as he’s a confident guy. He just needs to play and find a rhythm, as he’s the best winger in the team and nobody touches him if he’s fit and sharp.
Martin worked with him at Celtic, I think he made him double player of the year, and if he’s fit and sharp I think he’s the first name on the team-sheet along with a couple of others.
He just has to get it, as I’m not sure how much he’s playing at Sheffield Wednesday. He got an hour last week, he just needs to be playing, especially as a winger, your whole games is on sharpness.
Could your old boss Jose Mourinho fix Man United’s current problems?
I think so. I think he’s the only man for the job. I think after Guardiola signing with City, Manchester (United) have to come out and make a massive statement. There’s no bigger than that. I wouldn’t say they are guaranteed trophies, but knowing the way they work from my time at Melbourne — they’re obviously a sister club — I could see them steamrolling teams to be fair. City, that is.
And your other old manager, Claudio Ranieri, is doing very well at Leicester, isn’t he?
Ah yeah, he’s a great guy. No doubt he’ll have them all working hard. That’s what he did at Chelsea. But there’s that thing that hovers over him — I don’t think he has ever won a league anywhere. Maybe he might have won a ‘B’ or a Championship type league, but I don’t think he’s won a top league.
I find it incredible that they are up there, especially with Claudio at the helm. This time last year, with a similar squad, I think they were third or fourth from bottom. Listen, it’s incredible. He’s an amazing guy, he brought me to Chelsea, so I love him and I want him to do well.
What sort of interactions did you have with him?
I met him a couple of times. It took me a week or so to make up my mind because I didn’t want to leave Blackburn. He’s a bit like the Trap — a lot of charisma about him. All the lads loved him.
We knew three or four months beforehand that he was gone out of there. It just shows the respect that the lads had for him. I think you see now at City, some players look to have downed tools, I’m not sure. But at Chelsea, we were at it until the end, because we loved him so much and they were good guys as well who just put in a shift.
He used to be called the Tinkerman as well because of the amount of changes he’d make to a team — sometimes to a winning team. But I don’t think he does that now. I guess he’s learned. He’s obviously a very experienced manager.
Did the Chelsea players ever become frustrated with his constant tinkering?
Not really. When you have that many games, 60 or 70, not at all.
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To celebrate the new Republic of Ireland jersey going on sale at Life Style Sports, the brand announced today that it will be supporting Irish supporters by putting 12 football trips to France up for grabs for anyone who buys their jersey at Life Style Sports from today, 10th March, to 27th May. The first winner, Gary Kinsella, from Coolock, Dublin, was chosen this morning and he is pictured with Irish soccer legend DamienDuff in Life Style Sports on Grafton St. For further information on how to enter please see www.lifestylesports.com/greenticket.
