Euro 2016: Niall Quinn believes Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane brought joy back to Ireland
Former striker reckons current management duo are breath of fresh air after dour five years under Giovanni Trapattoni
Niall Quinn had to laugh when he saw Martin O’Neill apologising to his players after Roy Keane threatened to kill some of them last week.
Ex-Republic of Ireland striker Quinn knows all about Keane’s volcanic temperament following his World Cup walk out in Saipan in 2002.
Yet that infamous incident did not prevent him from later hiring Keane as boss when he was the owner of Sunderland.
And now he believes his country’s emotional managerial duo have brought back the fun and passion to Irish football after the joyless reign of Giovanni Trapattoni.
Quinn said: “I see that Roy got stuck into the players after the 2-1 defeat by Belarus but no one should ever be surprised when he comes out and speaks his mind because he’s done it so many times before.
“He’s a larger-than-life character and his approach to the game enthrals people all around the world.
“Martin spoke to his squad about Roy’s comments and everything is back on track — but I can’t imagine Roy went grovelling to the players.
“If the players are unsettled by what he’s said, they shouldn’t be there. Roy is looking for a response from them and if he gets that against Sweden tomorrow he’ll get a lot of credit for his words.
“The players should not feel they have been exonerated because they were poor against Belarus but we can’t get bogged down with friendly results.
“The only thing that matters now is getting everyone absolutely perfect for Sweden in terms of fitness, tactics and spirit.”
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Quinn is convinced Ireland have a much better chance of progressing than the team which lost all three group games at Euro 2012 in Poland and were the first nation to be eliminated from the competition.
He said: “The players had cabin fever from being locked away in a little Polish village and working with the pedal to the metal for 24 hours a day.
“Trapattoni took them to a pre-tournament training camp after a long season and they were over-trained. They were wrongly prepared, they were tired and the performances were awful.
“They suffered a bad defeat in their opening game against Croatia and they never recovered. They looked so flat. But Martin O’Neill knows how to get these players going.
“His motivational ability is his biggest strength. I’d back him to get it right after Trapattoni got it so wrong.
“The fans are feeling great about Irish football again, the players have more confidence, there is a sense of fun about the squad and the Leicester effect is rubbing off on them.
“We’re in a tough group against Sweden, Belgium and Italy and it would be a crushing blow to lose the first game. But with three teams going through to the next round it’s not going to need a miracle to qualify.
“Sweden looked a decent team against Wales last week and their players thrive off Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the self-professed king of football.
“In his own mind, Zlatan believes he was born for this stage and there is no doubt he’s a wonderful asset.
“But he’s by no means the best player I’ve ever seen and he’s also had some bang average games.
“Sweden have Zlatan to lead the line and Ireland have Jon Walters. It is what it is but Jon was our most important player in qualifying and we’ll all be happy if all the players buy into the green shirt like he has.”
Quinn believes that it was the 1-0 qualifying win against Germany last October which changed everything for the Irish.
The ex-Manchester City and Arsenal striker said: “That was one of the greatest results in the history of Irish football.
“Before that game, Scotland had the upper hand on us to qualify and a lot of people were saying we didn’t have the players to get to the Euros.
“But just as we did at the 1990 World Cup, the players dug deep as a team and turned things around magnificently. They rose to the occasion and went at it full pelt.
“Spirit is the key to everything for the Irish. If you put a value on the heads of all the players at these Euros, our squad would be well down the pecking order.
“But the collective spirit brings our stock right back up and gives us a real fighting chance of getting through to the knockout stages.”