Republic of Ireland manager Martin O’Neill believes that Cyrus Christie will be an able replacement for Seamus Coleman for the crunch World Cup qualifier against Austria next weekend.
Christie was one of the stand out performers for Ireland in their 3-1 victory over Uruguay at the Aviva Stadium, and got himself on the scoresheet, bagging the second goal.
With skipper Coleman not expected to return from a broken leg until next year, Christie looks certain to start against Austria and O’Neill has no doubts he can fill the captain’s boots.
The Derby fullback featured also featured in the midweek friendly defeat to Mexico and O’Neill has been pleased with what he’s seen.
Martin O'Neill reacts to Ireland 3-1 victory over Uruguay and was particularly pleased with Cyrus Christie's performance. pic.twitter.com/A1WKmTIkAd
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) June 4, 2017
"Christie has done very well in both matches," O’Neill told RTÉ. "I thought he was pretty good against Mexico and considering he is trying to replace a big figure in Seamus Coleman, I think he’s doing very well for us.
"It gives us that wee bit of confidence and some things to think about during the week but it’s about players just getting their mind set for Austria. That’s the be all and end all."
O’Neill was pleased with his side’s performance against Uruguay but is not getting carried away ahead of the Austria clash.
"It was nice to win the game and we scored some really good goals and it was a nice contrast to the Mexico game but everything is depending on the Austria game," he insisted.
The manager also took positives from the defeat against Mexico in which some of the fringe players were given a chance.
"It was a good work out for us today but also I thought the Mexico game was exactly what we needed. There were a lot of Championship players playing in that game that hadn’t played for a number of weeks and I think it showed.
"Today we had a more experienced side out in terms of international caps but it was still very important for us."
O’Neill has some big selection calls to make ahead of next Sunday
"He might not be the only player to miss from two-yards out, but he scored a great goal and we won the game so that helps I must admit.
"I’ve got a lot of choices to make, I think that’s the nice thing about players here. If you have the ability to step up and show your hand, I think that helps immensely."
