Mick McCarthy hopes Ireland players can use Danish 'tin of beans' jibe as motivation for Friday's clash
Ireland manager Mick McCarthy is during an Ireland training session at the FAI National Training Centre in Abbotstown, Dublin. Photo: Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
Republic of Ireland manager Mick McCarthy during a Republic of Ireland Training Session at the FAI National Training Centre in Abbotstown, Dublin. Photo by Harry Murphy/Sportsfile
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Ireland manager Mick McCarthy hopes that his players can use some of Denmark's past criticism as a motivating factor ahead of this Friday's crunch Copenhagen Euro 2020 qualifier.
Before and after the infamous Danish pasting of Martin O'Neill's hapless side in Dublin in a World Cup play-off, manager Age Hareide and a number of players lambasted the Irish side's limited tactics.
Hareide famously described O'Neill's Irish as a side who were “easy to read but difficult to beat” before they did beat them easily in that World Cup play-off in November, 2017.
Ahead of that game, Thomas Delaney claimed that trying to break down the Irish team was like attempting to "open a can of beans using your hands".
"Well, we are a farming country!" joked McCarthy, who did say that in his playing career, he might have used such comments as a personal motivating factor.
"It would with me but we're all different. If you could print what they said and remind them it may have a positive effect. I don't know what they said, I wasn't around.
"But if you were insulted, you'd try to take umbrage in a positive way if you could."
McCarthy confirmed he would not require any late recruits after the withdrawal of Shane Long, who picked up a hamstring injury in training on Sunday.
"It's a disappointment but hopefully not a blow if we have other strikers to do the business for us," said the Irish boss.
"It's a huge blow for him because he did so well to get over the injury last time. We've five or six strikers in so we've no plans to call anybody up."
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