Mick McCarthy vowed to carry on fighting after his Republic of Ireland team crashed to the second successive defeat of their Euro 2004 qualifying campaign. The Irish boss admitted he felt worse than at any other time during his six and a half year reign following the 2-1 defeat by Switzerland last night.
But, rather than walk away from the job, he said he would be leaving Lansdowne Road with his head held high. "I have got a contract until 2004 and unless someone tells me differently I'll keep fighting on," said McCarthy. "Why should I walk away? Myself and the players have always given everything to this and I don't think I should change."
"I am not going to walk away from it. If someone wants to make that decision then fine, but I am going to walk away from here with my head held high, my chin up and my chest out because I have always done my best; nothing and nobody will ever change that," McCarthy said.
"I don't think it was our worst performance of my time in charge but it is possibly the worst I feel because of the circumstances. In terms of effort and commitment from the players they have always given everything," McCarthy continued. "I feel sorry for the players because I think my current situation has affected everybody. It affected the spirit and the team morale and I feel sorry for them because all they want to do is come here and perform and play well."
"They have entertained and thrilled for the last three years and I have enjoyed sitting here being a winner - I am not enjoying sitting here being a loser. They have always given their lot and they have done tonight, and I am not going to criticise them," McCarthy added. "A worm of doubt has been sown from a lot of players and it does affect players, and it was a nervy performance. But I had a go to try and win the game and made changes at the end, and I take responsibility for that."
Against a team 40 places below them in the world rankings at 54, Ireland fell behind in the final minute of the first half when their defence was caught napping by a quickly-taken free-kick and Hakan Yakin skilfully lobbed the ball beyond Shay Given. Fortune smiled on McCarthy when they deservedly equalised after 77 minutes thanks to Ludovic Magnin's own goal.
But substitute Fabio Celestini pounced with a fine finish after 87 minutes, and the Irish for once were booed off the pitch by the fans who have adored them for so long. "The crowd's reaction disappointed me, but it was to be expected and it has been driven anyway from certain quarters," said McCarthy. "It was always going to happen if we got the wrong result. What I can't get my head round is that we have gone from the heights of our performances in the World Cup to a standard far, far lower."
Filed by Sinéad Kissane
