Paul Fennessy reports from Versailles
THE “BAD COP, bad cop” relationship between Roy Keane and Martin O’Neill has prompted plenty of interest since the pair were confirmed as Ireland manager and assistant respectively back in November 2013.
Arguably neither of the two have experienced a better night in their coaching careers than Ireland’s historic win over Italy last night, which saw the Boys in Green progress from the European Championships group stages for the first time in their history.
The two embraced after kick-off last night, and O’Neill elaborated on what was said between the pair as they embraced amid the full-time whistle, in one of the lighter moments of today’s press conference in Versailles.
“I told him to shave his beard. It was rustling my chin and I don’t want him to hug me again ever,” O’Neill joked.
He said: ‘You are an ugly sod’ and I agreed wholeheartedly. I then retorted and said he ‘wasn’t Paul Newman either.’”
“We were delighted to win the game and be part of that evening and it was genuinely special. We felt that we were part of that evening, one not to be forgotten. To see the fans enjoy it, it more than made up for the Belgium game. Last night, players and fans together fused in a way that they kept each other going.”
O’Neill was reluctant to say where the victory ranks in terms of other memorable Ireland wins, but did suggest it was comparable to famous wins he experienced with Northern Ireland as a player and Celtic as a manager.
When I think about it, there are definite similarities. We went on a journey in 1982 that brought us up against the host nation, who we had to beat to get through to the quarter-finals, and that was an immense moment for us and one that I will never forget.
“There are similarities between that and now facing France on Sunday. It’s a game that we will look forward to — we must look forward to the game, but not just look forward to it, actually believing that you can compete and win the game.
We have to think that because the performance last night will give us an enormous boost of confidence and we need to carry that through.”
O’Neill continued: “The evening last night was reminiscent of some great European nights at Celtic. We had a great European night against Juventus some years ago, the place was absolutely rocking. We followed that up with a couple of other great European nights against (teams such as) Liverpool, the atmosphere was incredible. That’s what it felt like last night.
“Where it ranks? It was a great evening. Let’s see how we get on in the game coming up.”
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