The Irish press pack got what they wished for this afternoon: Roy Keane gave a pre-game briefing ahead of the Ireland/Austria qualifier in Dublin on Sunday.
In spite of the pedigree in the Austrian squad, they arrive in Dublin with some problems, as we have profiled at greater length here.
They are bereft of the level of squad unity that defines the Irish squad, with Austrian manager Marcel Koller publicly calling for exactly that as his left-back Andres Ulmer decided he would rather get married than be part of the Austrian squad this weekend:
The player [Ulmer] has been called up for years, but he decides to plan his wedding instead of joining up with the team. I can’t understand that.
This is a public call to the players, which is a damn important game, we have to be ready and focused from the first minute of the camp.
It’s important that everyone thinks about what they want, and if they want to be part of the national team, it means having a red-white-red heart with a lot of passion.
You have to prepare yourself mentally or say ‘I do not play in the team’ There is only one option – being at full throttle for Austria.
Roy Keane has been playing up Ireland's commitment ahead of the game, and has called on Ireland to continue delivering on it.
Seamus Coleman has linked up with the squad as he continues his rehab from the horror leg break sustained against Wales, and Keane used the captain as an example to the rest of the squad:
You want players playing on the edge and putting their bodies on the line, which players have done before — people like Seamus Coleman. You have to be able to accept whatever goes on, like Seamus breaking his leg.
People have done a lot more for their country than breaking their legs. People have died for their country so we want our lads to put their bodies on the line and give everything they’ve got.
That’s my mindset when I’m working with a group of players. We’re going into battle on Sunday, be ready to put your body on the line like Seamus did. You’ve got to follow that.
Kick-off at the Aviva is at 5pm on Sunday, and Jon Walters has been deemed fit to start, having briefly panicked us all by sitting out training yesterday.
