SEAMUS COLEMAN HAS defended Martin O’Neill and the Irish set-up in the wake of criticism from former team-mate Keith Andrews.
The Ireland captain, who made his return from injury for Everton against Crystal Palace today, responded to comments made by Andrews that the national team look “clueless” under O’Neill.
Speaking after he gave away a late penalty in Everton’s 2-0 victory, Coleman was less than pleased with Andrews’ assessment of the Ireland team.
“We are all behind the manager,” Coleman told Off The Ball. “Sometimes players get away with murder.
“It always seems to be put on the manager, that’s something that really bugs me at club level. I’ve seen three or four managers go. It always seems to be them that gets the heat and not the players.
“We need to stand up and be counted. Some of our performances have not been good enough.
“We’re going through a tough time. Keith has been part of teams himself that could have been questioned at times
“It’s very easy from a pundit’s position. I’ve to bite my tongue at times. Keith has got a job to do, Keith has really taken to punditry.
“He might have been trying to make a name for himself by being a little bit harsh the other night. That’s his job, that’s his role.
“When he was a player it was his job to get on the ball and make things happen and at times he didn’t do that.
“Sometimes it’s hard to take that criticism, Keith would say the same when he was a player, he got plenty of criticism and would have agreed it was hard to take.
“We need to give the fans something to be proud of and 100 per cent, at the minute, our performances have not been good enough but come March we’re hoping to give the country some big nights again.”
Subscribe to our new podcast, Heineken Rugby Weekly on The42, here:
