IRELAND’S green jersey is heavy sometimes, says Seamus Coleman, and it should be.
Passionate as always, Donegal native Coleman says the jersey should be weighed down by the sweat of hard work and the pride of representing your country.
The Everton veteran was restored to the team on his 37th birthday in Lisbon on Saturday night and his impact inspired Ireland to their best performance of this campaign.
His industry was typically immense and his quality brought a calmness to the team in possession that took the Republic to the brink of a hard-earned point against star-studded Portugal.
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“Is the jersey not supposed to be heavy?” said a bemused Coleman, reacting to comments by manager Heimar Hallgrimsson that some of his players were being weighed down by the pressure of international football
“You’re playing for Ireland. It’s pressure but it’s amazing pressure. It is heavy at times but that’s a good thing.
“There’s only 11 players who can get picked to play for your country at any given time. You’re expected to get performances. I’ve been on the end of Luxembourg at home and stuff like that happens.
“You’ve got to take crap from the media, it’s just part and parcel of it and you’ve got to find a way to keep going. The jersey might be heavy but for me, it’s supposed to be heavy.”
Portugal’s stars worked very hard too on Saturday night and, ultimately, Ruben Neves produced the quality to head home Francisco Trincao’s cross and end the brave Irish resistance in the first minute of injury-time.
Victory over Hungary in their next game will book Roberto Martinez’s side their passage to thew World Cup finals in USA, Canada and Mexico next summer. Meanwhile, Ireland have to pick themselves up and start again against Armenia on Tuesday night in Dublin.
Kelleher saved Ronaldo’s penalty
Caoimhin Kelleher brilliantly saved Ronaldo’s penalty(Zed Jameson/PA)
“You feel sorry for yourself for about 10-15-20 minutes. sometimes longer, but ultimately we’ve got a game on Tuesday and I know we have to put right what went wrong out there,” said Coleman.
“That’s not a given either because there could have been more out there, so we need to understand that it’s not a given on Tuesday night.
“But I do think as a group we need to put that right in front of our fans as well because the way they travelled here tonight was incredible. We’re very lucky to have them and it would have been nice to send them home with a point and then look forward to Tuesday, but Tuesday is important now and we’ll see where that takes us.
“We have to maintain that standard or ultimately it (qualification) is completely dead and buried. To give us any slight hope we have to win on Tuesday night.
“We have to be on the front foot and we have to create chances. We have to get the Aviva behind us. Like I said, they beat us out there so you can’t take it for granted, they’re a good side.”
Killybegs native Coleman turned 37 on Saturday night. A point would have been the perfect present for him but being back in the Ireland side was enough.
“I was tired but I can put up with tiredness to play for my country,” he said.
“It’s the best feeling in the world.
“I hope I can play another 90 minutes on Tuesday night, we’ll see what the gaffer says but I’m feeling good at the minute. I’ve had a good spell training and Jake (O’Brien) has done really well at club level but I’ve played a couple of League Cup games and I think he’s seen tonight that I was alright as well. So I’m good.”
LIKE many Irish fans, Coleman hoped Ireland had weathered the storm when Caoimhin Kelleher brilliantly saved Cristiano Ronaldo’s penalty in the second half.
“Caoimhin’s great at saving penalties,” he said.
“I kind of thought then that it would be our night in terms of getting a point out of here, but it wasn’t to be.
“As a squad we do sometimes play a bit better against teams like Portugal.
“That’s why Tuesday night is important in a different way.
“We’re expected to take the game to them and we can take confidence from the togetherness, the Irishness at times I felt in the squad tonight - defending corners, defending crosses. A lot to be proud of tonight and then ultimately they just kept chipping away.”
Having been left out of the squad for the games against Hungary and Armenia, Coleman was brought back into the fold the October double-header and his quality and vast experience seemed to lift everyone around him.
“I just came in to be myself,” he said.
“It’s a young group, a group that loves playing for Ireland and I just came in and was myself. I tried to drive things as best as I could and help out along the way. We had a good training week and for 90 minutes we had a really good performance as well.
“It was very frustrating (to be left out). Obviously, you always feel it. To play at this level, you’ve got to have something about you, or you feel like you should be in the squad.
“I know I’d not played much but I had been training quite a bit and I did feel like me training or being around could help.
“Ultimately, nothing’s given at this stage. I got called back in and I leapt at it, I couldn’t wait to get back in and see the lads.”
After the 2-1 loss to Armenia the Ireland players and management were heavily criticised but Coleman – who has been through some dark days at international level himself over the years – says the mood remains positive.
“I’ve been on the end of the Luxembourg game so I don’t want to judge the boys who played against Armenia,” he said.
“That’s gone now and we’ve got a chance to get that right on Tuesday. Everyone loves playing for their country. It showed signs tonight of what I think our identity should be as well - proud to defend, proud to clear balls, proud to run in behind and be physical at times.”