Republic of Ireland manager Martin O’Neill offered qualified praise of his side’s performance after Ciaran Clark’s goal secured a 1-0 win against Switzerland at the Aviva Stadium.
O’Neill lauded his team’s attitude, telling RTÉ Sport: “We wanted to try and get forward, be on the front foot a wee bit more.
“I wasn’t too sure that we had total cohesion in the game when we had to play without the ball, but it’s something we’re capable - funnily enough - of doing now, we’ve grown accustomed to do it.
“Tonight, at home, we liked to get on the ball a wee bit more, liked to have a bit more confidence with ourselves in doing that.”
Looking ahead to the clash with Slovakia at the same venue on Tuesday night, the 64-year-old said: “Of course there’ll be some changes for Tuesday night, but I’d also like to win.”
Kevin Doyle made his first appearance for Ireland in two years, but his return from the international wilderness lasted just 20 minutes, with the Colorado Rapids striker suffering a match-ending injury to his knee.
However, O’Neill believes the injury may not be as bad as it initially appeared after consultation with team doctor Alan Byrne.
“It’s difficult for him, I thought he started off very, very brightly indeed,” O’Neill opined.
“But I’ve just spoken to Alan, out doctor, and he say that it’s a clean cut, which is good.
“It’s a very deep cut but it’s clean, but there’s no breaks and I think they’re cleaning it out at this moment and I think he’s responding pretty well.”
