Ireland boost for Portugal as striking duo declared fit

John O'Shea was maintaining a positive outlook ahead of a daunting trip to Lisbon to face Portugal on Saturday night as the Ireland assistant head coach urged the national team to seize their opportunity to change the mood of everyone in the country.

And on the day after the Budget, that opposition parties claim was not too helpful for the ordinary people, his words might resonate around the country.

From a sporting perspective, and the national team in particular, the mood has been at a fairly low level over the past few weeks since the shocking 2-1 defeat to Armenia in Yerevan, and while the management team have a full week to prepare the players for Portugal, the daunting nature of the task at hand remains.

Naturally, O’Shea was brought back to the game in Yerevan to explain what went wrong against the group’s lowest seeds, as he faced the media after training in Dublin earlier today.

"We have to have a better window than the last one, it's as simple as that," said O’Shea. "We know that. Like everything after every camp, you look back on the learnings from it, and we know we have to do a lot better.

"There had been signs of progress, and then you have a moment like that in a game where it's so crucial that you take something from it – we know we can't afford to have moments like that now going forward for the rest of the campaign.

"[But] it's a game of football. It's something that you're not planning on happening. We weren't expecting it. So when it does, it's obviously a bit of a shock to the system. And everyone was absolutely gutted.

"We weren't expecting it. And that's where we have to show that reaction now. We have to get back. And like I said, have a better window than the last one."

O’Shea did have a positive update from the assembled squad as he confirmed that everyone was fit and well, including Evan Ferguson, who appeared to be a doubt following his last week with his club Roma in Italy.

Troy Parrott also appears to have put himself in the picture for Portugal, considering manager Heimir Hallgrimsson suggested that he would be kept in reserve for the Armenia game in Dublin next Tuesday.

"All good," said O’Shea, when asked for a squad update. "Evan took part in pretty much all the training today, so really good.

"Troy's been excellent since he's showed up, which is fantastic news as well. I don't think there was any other particular worries. I think we're all good, well so far after today.

"There's every chance [Troy will feature in Portugal], but you also have to respect the kind of injuries he's had. We look after the player first and foremost and hopefully then we can make that decision closer to kick-off.

"But what we're seeing is very positive. Everything, the strength and the power and the speed that he has is good to see.

"Troy has been doing everything right on and off the pitch for the last few years to be the best professional he can. That's led to him possibly getting back that bit quicker from an injury that could have kept him out for longer too.

"It’s brilliant to see and obviously he was getting the rewards before the injury too. The type of character he is in the group as well. Anyone that has that kind of attacking talent is going to be very important for us."

Looking ahead to the Portugal fixture and whether Ireland can take anything concrete from the trip south, O’Shea maintained the line that the team needed a better window than the last, suggesting a good performance in Portugal followed by a win against Armenia would satisfy their ambitions.

But despite the last window, where Ireland only managed a draw at home to Hungary before that disastrous result in Armenia, the confidence still appears to remain that Ireland can stay in the fight for World Cup qualification.

"First and foremost, it's to make sure we're putting in a more Irish performance, that's the key aspect for us to face Portugal," said O’Shea.

"There's no better test that we're going to get than against this Portuguese team, away from home. Every facet of our game is going to be tested. So we have to be ready for it.

"And what a chance to [bounce back] away in Lisbon," said O’Shea. "We need to have more togetherness in the team, the squad, in the sense of sticking together. There's going to be tough moments in Portugal. We're going to be under pressure, so we're going to have to defend collectively, and then you have that threat to cause Portugal problems as well."

O’Shea was also asked about the lack of belief in the squad, with some players mentioning the fact that they were yet to see any real return while donning the green jersey over the past five years.

And the former Manchester United man believes that the perfect opportunity is awaiting in Lisbon, which is the best way to right that particular wrong.

"Obviously the more you win at international level, it's a natural belief thing," he said, when asked about players lacking belief. "But that's the thing, winning games will obviously change all that. It changes the mood of everybody.

"And we have the opportunity now to change the mood of everyone in the country. Simple as that. It's up to us to do it, we have to do it."

Watch Portugal v Republic of Ireland in World Cup qualifying on Saturday from 7pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to live radio commentary on Saturday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1

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