GIOVANNI TRAPATTONI HAS defended his decision to bench Robbie Brady and said that the media misunderstood his pre-match comments about the youngster’s mental strength.
Brady was initially named for Friday’s World Cup qualifier against Sweden but there was immediate confusion when Trapattoni indicated that the winger’s place was provisional until he could prove that he was up to the task.
Brady was ultimately left out in the reshuffle which saw both James McCarthy and Jon Walters drafted in following Glenn Whelan’s withdrawal with an ankle injury.
But Trapattoni made clear this morning that the late swap had nothing to do with Brady’s mental condition and that the pre-match headlines were based on comments that had been lost in translation.
“Reporters in the world are good at writing pieces in the newspaper but I never said he was confused,” the manager explained after training in Malahide this morning.
What I wanted to say was that I want to stimulate him psychologically. I want to see him more focused. I want to see him stronger psychologically. I never said, or I didn’t mean to say, that he’s confused.I know what he can do. He’s creative. The headlines are different but there’s no problem with Robbie.
Explaining the late changes to his starting XI, Trapattoni added: “International games need strength. The fact that Whelan wasn’t fit then conditioned the other two choices.
“It had nothing to do with Robbie. It was a consequence of Whelan. It was just a case of finding the right balance and the right physical weight in the team.”
Trapattoni has also taken some flak for his decision to leave McCarthy out of his original starting XI, naming Paul Green alongside Whelan in central midfield as part of his plan to stifle Sweden.
McCarthy was Ireland’s star man in Stockholm, earning plaudits and the Man of the Match award for his assured display in Friday’s 0-0 draw.
“If young players are in the squad, it’s because I trust them and have confidence in them in the first place,” Trapattoni said. “We need to give them a chance to improve and increase in every game.
“I said before that [McCarthy] needs to improve his personality. I said at the last conference that James is very shy. I ask him to speak and command and he said, ‘yeah, yeah, yeah,’ but he became red.
He was one of the best on the pitch. I always say to him, ‘you can speak, you can command the game, you can call your team-mate,’ but when you are young you don’t have this confidence.“What we saw is what I wanted to see from him. He is technically good, he has good vision on the ball and he has improved physically.
