With less than a month to go to the Republic of Ireland’s vital World Cup qualifier against Austria at the Aviva, preparations will kick in next week as Martin O’Neill brings a selection of the squad to Fota Island for a three-day training camp.
With the majority of the 38-man Ireland panel plying their trade in England’s second tier, a huge chunk of players have already finished their respective club campaigns, while the first of three upcoming international matches is still over two weeks away.
As a result, the Ireland manager is bringing the squad back to the impressive Cork resort, while those players still involved in the Premier League, which finishes this week, and the play-offs, will join up with the squad the following weekend.
Of course, the Ireland squad spent a week at the Cork venue to begin their Euro 2016 training camp and the manager obviously believes that the familiarity will get the players back into the same frame of mind ahead of the vital visit of Austria on 11 June.
"The training camp is essentially for the Championship players," O’Neill confirmed.
"We’ve a group of about 15 or 16 players who finished the season a couple of weeks ago and they’re not involved in the play-offs.
"They have had a long season and a little bit of a break, and some of them haven’t played a lot in games towards the end of the season."
The squad will then fly out to the USA for the first of three games, which sees O’Neill’s side take on Mexico in New Jersey on 1 June, before returning to Dublin for the friendly clash with Uruguay on 4 June.
But with several of the presumed starting XI missing for the start of this training camp, the fringe players will have a chance to impress the management team at Fota Island.
With captain Seamus Coleman and Ciaran Clark missing through injury, and with others failing to cement regular first-team football at their clubs, there are certainly places up for grabs for this World Cup season closer, and the travelling contingent to the Rebel County will get a head-start on those still winding up their club campaign.
But players beware.
Last year’s Cork camp concluded with a terrible performance and embarrassing defeat to Belarus at Turner’s Cross and the city’s most famous footballing son was none too impressed.
Roy will be watching with interest.
USA Summer Tour 2017: A Help or a Hindrance?
When Ireland arranged a friendly international against Uruguay one week ahead of the Austria qualifier, it made perfect sense from both a competitive and commercial perspective.
Whether or not Barcelona striker Luis Suarez makes the trip to Dublin for the 4 June fixture matters little to the Ireland manager or squad, who should still get a spirited outing against the South American side, which will allow O’Neill to utilise his preferred starting XI and formation a week out from the important game with Austria.
But now the Ireland squad will be playing a match in New Jersey three days before the Uruguay match and when time zones, travel disruptions and recovery come into play, it is impossible to see how the Irish can be ideally prepared for that stiff test.
So does the Mexico match become the testing board ahead of the Austria match, or is there a chance that the second string will be asked to play the potential exhibition-esque match Stateside?
"If the players don't go to America they will be ready for the game against Uruguay, and that's a big match for us in terms of preparation for the Austria game," O’Neill confirmed at this morning’s press conference.
"The way I’m looking at it, the side that plays against Uruguay, for the most part, and injury aside, will be the side that takes their place against Austria."
So it would appear that the Ireland manager still has his mind fully focused on that Uruguay test in Dublin with the potential to leave several key players back in Dublin to avoid unnecessary disruptions.
The sensible option, no doubt.
O’Neill’s Loyalty May Reap Rewards
"You have four or five players who have not played a full ninety minutes since we last met up in March. So while they will be a bit rusty, they will also be desperate to impress."
The Ireland manager is renowned as one of the best in the business at gaining performances from his entire squad, and quotes like this from this morning’s press conference sums up exactly why players, without fail, perform enthusiastically for the manager.
And when you examine the squad that the manager has assembled for these games, O’Neill’s loyalty and desire to maintain that key team spirit amongst the squad is very evident.
And while there are many players who have not enjoyed a good season at their club and could hardly complain if they were omitted from the international squad, the call from O’Neill will be appreciated even more and it would be no surprise if one or more of the out-of-favour club players make the biggest impact for Ireland in the upcoming World Cup qualifier.
Perhaps the manager believes that the end of season is not the right time to tinker too much with the squad, however, surely O’Neill will have to set a few stalwarts free in the autumn ahead of the campaign’s end should they offer little in the upcoming games.
Sean Maguire Must Get In Line
With a squad shorn of natural goalscorers since the departure of record-breaker Robbie Keane, the Ireland manager must have had a long hard think about naming his attacking options for the upcoming matches.
And with Aston Villa’s Scott "I’m concentrating on my club career" Hogan, looking less and less likely to become involved in O’Neill’s squad, the manager has to cast his net far and wide when searching for a more potent strike-force.
But perhaps the answer is right under the manager’s nose as Cork City’s Sean Maguire continues to put his hand up for international inclusion, guiding the Leesiders to a 12-point lead at the top of the League of Ireland Premier Division, with 11 goals already in the campaign.
Maguire was not considered for this series of games and the manager believes that he is behind those selected in the pecking order.
The Ireland manager is very methodical when it comes to selecting players and will only make that call when he believes that it has been thoroughly deserved.
O’Neill has certainly cast his eyes on Maguire at this stage and must have been impressed with the way he led the line in last season’s Cup final, where he proved a constant nuisance to current squad member Andy Boyle, and topped off a fine performance with the winning goal.
But in Maguire’s favour, is the fact that the Cork striker will continue playing throughout the summer here in Ireland, while the rest of the squad are on holidays or in pre-season ahead of the August restart.
So there is every chance that by the time the September qualifiers come around, Maguire’s place on the international ladder will have considerably improved and the Waterford native may even be coaxed across the channel during the summer months.
In the meantime, the manager might consider inviting the City striker out the road past Little Island next week to take part in the three-day camp at Fota Island.
There can surely be no losers with that arrangement.
