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Mick McCarthy says he would \u201cgo home\u201d if he did not think the Republic of Ireland could beat Denmark to reach the Euro 2020 finals.<\/p>\nMick McCarthy says he would \u201cgo home\u201d if he did not think the Republic of Ireland could beat Denmark to reach the Euro 2020 finals.<\/p>\n
The 60-year-old Ireland boss will send his team into battle with a familiar foe at the Aviva Stadium on Monday evening knowing victory will secure a third successive trip to the European Championship.<\/p>\n
It will be the sixth time the sides have met in two years and Ireland have won none of the previous five, drawing four and losing one, although McCarthy insists that has to change some time.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cWhen people tell me that \u2018You haven\u2019t beaten somebody for so many times\u2019, well, I always believe it\u2019s about time we did and that\u2019s the mentality that I try to instill into everybody else.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust because it hasn\u2019t happened before doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s not going to happen again. There\u2019s loads of places being flooded in England at the minute \u2013 they\u2019ve never been flooded before, but they are because it\u2019s been raining a lot.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just think that for us, always there\u2019s a big performance in us that can win a game. If I don\u2019t believe it, I might as well go home \u2013 and I\u2019m not going home anytime soon.\u201d<\/p>\n
Asked by a Danish journalist if he accepted that Age Hareide\u2019s team is technically better than his, McCarthy \u2013 who as a schoolboy watched then Second Division Sunderland stun the mighty Leeds to lift the 1973 FA Cup -puffed out his chest and said: \u201cIf I sat here and said I was better than everyone else, you wouldn\u2019t believe me, would you?<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t concern me, people\u2019s opinions don\u2019t concern me, because it\u2019s on the day.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve seen a lot of cup finals. I was a big Leeds fan as a kid. I remember watching them against Sunderland. They were an absolute shoo-in, Sunderland couldn\u2019t win. And guess what? They did.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll of the games I\u2019ve seen or been involved in subsequently when teams shouldn\u2019t win and the other side has a better team and better players and a better manager and everything is in their favor, and they get slapped \u2013 well, that\u2019s what I\u2019m hoping will happen tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n
McCarthy does not believe for one minute that there is as big a gap between the two teams as there was that day at Wembley but is confident Ireland will give a better account of themselves than they did back in 2017 when, after drawing the first leg of their World Cup play-off 0-0 in Copenhagen, they returned to Dublin with high hopes only to be trounced 5-1.<\/p>\n
A man who won 57 caps for his country before guiding them to the World Cup finals in 2002 during his first spell as manager has seen much of what the game can throw at those who earn a living from it, but even he admits to feeling a few nerves on the eve of his latest big game.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cI\u2019ve woken up this morning with the butterflies with the boots on and I\u2019m pleased about that, to be honest with you.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat nice feeling getting ready for the game and you know that the big game is coming now and this is the last part of the preparation, I enjoy that feeling.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope I am going to have a bigger one in July, bigger games playing in the European Championship. But for now, this is the biggest one.\u201d<\/p>\n