GOING ON GIOVANNI Trapattoni’s comments at last night’s post-match press conference, it seems that Wes Hoolahan has finally won over his international manager.
The Dubliner possesses the rare ability to pick the lock of opposing backlines with his vision and has shown that in the Premier League with Norwich the past two seasons.
Trapattoni showed reluctance to involve Hoolahan in the past but eventually handed him a his first appearance in a green jersey for four years when he came on in the 1-0 defeat to Greece back in November.
Another cameo against Poland in February saw him scores his first international goal but he was only given 13 minutes in 0-0 draw with Sweden in Stockholm and a midfield pairing of James McCarthy and Glenn Whelan was preferred as Austria stole a point late on in Dublin.
Last night, the 31-year-old was granted the opportunity to impress on his first competitive start – and he didn’t disappoint.
As well as being Ireland’s driving force in the middle of the park against admittedly poor opposition, Hoolahan had a hand in all three of Robbie Keane’s goals.
“I think he was fantastic,” Trapattoni told the media. “Like the last game, each time the pass, he has a good personality and he is creative also. It’s also tough, the attitude, the pressing is important.
Maybe it’s right what I said in the past, maybe we ignored him slightly in the past, but in this time in qualifying we’ll continue with the new group.
“He’s not old, but he’s (over) 30. We had Gibson, Whelan, Andrews and other players (in the last campaign). It was a pity, because he can show us again he is a fantastic creator, one of the best Irish players in this position.
So the Italian has become an admirer of Hoolahan, who could miss out on the friendly with Spain due to a hamstring problem, but when James McCarthy returns from suspension, will he resigned to a place on the bench?
It was originally thought that he could be accommodated as a deep-lying striker behind the likes of Shane Long or Jon Walters, but with Robbie Keane continuing to add to his record tally, that looks a non-runner.
When asked if Hoolahan can he start more regularly, Trap responded: ”Sure, I think yes. It depends also on the form. We have the same system to play, he has good support also. In his club sometimes, I couldn’t speak about his club, because he played 20 metres up because they have another system.
“With us, he has good support near the line, with McGeady, with Walters. We can also think about this.”
