- Paul Fennessy reports from Lyon
IRELAND WILL SEEK advice from goalkeeper Darren Randolph as they attempt to combat France star Dimitri Payet in the Euro 2016 second-round match at Parc Olympique Lyonnais on Sunday.
Bray native Randolph knows Payet better than most given that the two are clubmates at West Ham.
And Derby defender Richard Keogh confirmed today that the team are using Randolph to glean as much information as possible about the 29-year-old midfielder, who has two goals and one assist from three matches in the tournament so far.
“We go over the video analysis of their strengths and weakness and for sure, he’s having a great tournament.
He’s proven that with West Ham this year and yes, sure we’ll tap in to Darren’s knowledge of him. He’s obviously worked with him very closely.
“I don’t think we have got any kind of special plans. We are a team and we have a team ethic and that’s what one of our strengths is.”
And while attempting to stop France’s coterie of stars is an unenviable task, Derby captain Keogh believes the momentum gained from their 1-0 win over Italy on Wednesday will be beneficial as they attempt to pull off another upset.
“We will be working hard for each other to get a positive result.
We realise how important the game is against the hosts. Now we are going to be the underdog again — people probably wrote us off in the group and probably didn’t think we would get out of the group, and we’re here now.
“We have got to take confidence from the game the other day. We have got a great squad, a great togetherness and that will certainly help us in the game tomorrow.”
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