14 YEARS HAVE passed since Mick McCarthy packed in international management, but he still very much has his Ireland hat on.
The man who earned the nickname Captain Fantastic and won 57 caps as a player, appearing at Euro ’88 and Italia ’90, replaced Jack Charlton in the hot seat and led the Boys in Green to knockout stages of the 2002 World Cup finals in what was the high point of his six-year spell in charge.
Since leaving that post, McCarthy has gone on to carve out a respectable career in the England’s top two divisions at Sunderland, Wolves and his current club Ipswich Town.
Two of his current players, David McGoldrick and Daryl Murphy, are vying for places in Ireland’s Euro 2016 squad and the pair have been named on Martin O’Neill’s 35-man list to face the Netherlands later this month.
Shane Long is likely to be Ireland’s first choice striker in France and all-time top goalscorer Robbie Keane will no doubt be on the plane after returning to fitness, while Stoke’s Jon Walters has often been used as a winger.
That leaves Murphy and McGoldrick, who have both had their problems with injuries this season, battling it out with Kevin Doyle for a spot.
“Digsy and Murph are in it and it’s great for them,” McCarthy said today. ”I thought they would be in the preliminary squad, but it’s up to Martin whether they go eventually.
“They’re both fit. Murph has missed the last games but he’s fit and Digsy’s raring to go.
He missed a lot of football so he’s hungry for it. He’s not wanting his holidays, he wants to make up for lost time. He played in the last four games for me.”
28-year-old McGoldrick sat out the best part of three months with a hamstring tear but returned to first team action at the beginning of April and played 90 minutes in the last three matches — scoring two goals.
The former Southampton and Nottingham Forest man may only have two Ireland caps to his name, but he could be given a chance to impress against the Dutch and McCarthy believes he is good option to have.
“I think he’s different to any of the other strikers,” he said. “Digsy is technically very good, he’s a good finisher and he can certainly stick the ball and keep hold of it.
“He drops in and plays, he’s not one that is threatening on the shoulder all the time, although he can do that as he’s quick enough.”
Murphy, meanwhile, has not featured for the Tractor Boys since mid-Match with McCarthy allowing him adequate time to regain his fitness for this summer once they were unable to make the Championship play-offs.
“We couldn’t achieve anything other than seventh so once the play-offs were gone, I wasn’t going to nip his heels and try and get him fit,” he explains. “I really wanted him to be fit and available for selection for the Euros, which he is.”
Prolific for Ipswich last season and with a tally of 10 this term, the Waterford native has been unable to translate those goals to international football and he has failed to score in 16 appearances.
It’s only a matter of time before he finds the back of the net in a green jersey according to his club boss, however.
“There’s a first time for everything,” added McCarthy. “He’ll get one at some stage, it’s whether he gets his start. They will have to look at him in the friendlies that are coming up.
“He was outstanding last season and it’s only this season that he has missed games through injury. But he’s fit now so he has got an opportunity with the games coming up.”
McCarthy also offered praise for the job O’Neill and his assistant Roy Keane have done in the two and-a-half years employed by the FAI — insisting that fans should be thinking positively despite landing a difficult group with Belgium, Italy and Sweden.
“Wonderful,” he replied, when asked to analyse their time at the helm. “They’re in the European championships. They’ve qualified for the competition which is their remit so I they’ve got the best out of themselves and the players.
“12 months ago, it looked like it wasn’t going to happen. Then whatever result it was that turned it around, was it Germany? They got a bit of momentum and qualified comfortably in the last game against Bosnia.
I don’t see why everyone shouldn’t be looking forward to the European championships with optimism. It didn’t look like we were going to go 12 months ago so it should be a positive feel.
“It’s a tough group, the European championships are notoriously tough. There are some weaker teams in it as they have extend the amount of teams that are in it, but nevertheless you’ve got to beat the best teams to win it.
“The three teams that we’ve got are exceptionally tough but that has always been the case. I can’t remember going to a championship thinking it was going to be easy.
“The last European championships in Poland were disappointing but you do your best and see what happens. It has generally been the case that teams don’t like playing against us.”
Mick McCarthy was speaking at a press conference where he was announced as Paddy Power’s Euro 2016 ambassador. The former Ireland boss will contribute a series of exclusive columns to the Paddy Power Blog throughout Euro 2016 in which he’ll candidly discuss the key matches and tactics.
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