I'll punch McCarthy if he doesn't stop being so shy, says Trap ahead of Austria clash



Even by Giovanni Trapattoni’s extraordinary standards, this pre-match press conference performance took us into new weird and wacky territory. It was hard-hitting stuff. Just ask James McCarthy.

Hordes came over from Vienna to thrust their cameras at the former Red Bull Salzburg coach who no doubt entertained them for years in his last club. If they came for a repeat showing, they were not to be disappointed.

Yet the Austrian journalists stayed largely quiet; watching, observing, and laughing. Amid the inevitable looks of bewilderment – this was a Trap press conference, after all - there was plenty of laughter.

In the mood: Ireland manager Giovanni Trapattoni is preparing his players for Austria

When he bit his own finger, to impersonate a dog – his description of Nobby Stiles, not ours – no one could stifle the giggles.



One female visitor was so taken with the madness of it that she laughed out loud for several minutes. And it is probably best to just ignore his unexpected and repeated reference to Austria’s full-back Christian Fuchs. More guffaws at that moment.

His theme for this week – aside from denying the confusion over his team selections in Stockholm was confusing – has become the establishment of characters within his young squad.

And while Robbie Brady will return to Hull scratching his head, and thankfully Glenn Whelan’s injury in Sweden means James McCarthy will not, in his own bizarre way Trapattoni is helping to develop a fresh team spirit and togetherness among the players forced to abandon the wilds of Malahide yesterday morning to train at the Aviva, where they face Austria on Tuesday.

Aside from translator Manuela Spinelli, Trapattoni sat on his own in the Guttenburg Suite of the Grand Hotel. Robbie Keane’s absence means `Il Capitano’ on Tuesday is John O’Shea but the Sunderland defender fulfilled his media obligations the previous day so sidestepped the main press conference on Monday afternoon.

That gave Trapattoni the licence to identify the strengths of a squad he says he is remoulding from the embers of the Euros disaster. Boys like McCarthy are becoming men. And very important ones at that.

But his assessment of the Scots-born midfielder, who only made his competitive debut two years ago after months of waiting and uncertainty (by the manager, not the Wigan Athletic man), could not come without an injection of humour and openness.



McCarthy has to believe in his own ability, he said, or he will punch him in the face.

Shy guy: Trapattoni wants James McCarthy (left) to believe in himself more

The former Hamilton Academical has been repeatedly linked with Arsenal and Liverpool for the last two years and his club boss Roberto Martinez has said the 22-year-old has the ability to 'play anywhere in the world.'



Trapattoni is convinced he could play for one of the top clubs in the Barclays Premier League.

Two years after making his competitive debut for Ireland, McCarthy has become firmly established in Trapattoni’s new-look Irish team – even if he was due to be dropped for the goalless draw in Sweden on Friday night and only earned a late reprieve to start thanks to Whelan’s ankle injury.

He went into the opening game of this double header determined to make a point because, as he tried to tell anyone who would listen before his competitive debut against Macedonia two years ago this month, he wants to play for the Republic of Ireland.

In the mix: McCarthy has worked his way into the Ireland set-up with stellar performances

And after his impressive showing in Stockholm’s Friends Arena, and as one of the few Premier League regulars available to him, Trapattoni has finally started to acknowledge the rapid development of McCarthy, who controversially turned down the opportunity to play for Scotland to pursue his international future with the 74-year-old Italian, despite being constantly overlooked for the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign.

Trapattoni said: 'James has the good qualities but I have told him "I will punch you if you don’t stop being shy".

' McCarthy is growing. He has qualities but he is young, only 22 and he needs to have more confidence because he will grow and he will increase these qualities.



Star man: McCarthy (right) has deputised admirably in the centre this season for Wigan

'In every training session we see him improve but he does not dominate yet. He must do more.

'Sure he can play for one of the top clubs in England. He shoots, he sees the pass immediately, sees the ball and always has the solutions. I won’t discuss his club, because there are other problems. He has to be confident and say "I am James McCarthy, I can do this, I can".

MRS QUINN'S WARNING FOR THE WAGs

The wife of former Sunderland chairman and Republic of Ireland international Niall Quinn has warned modern day WAGs could be in for a shock when their partners retire. Gillian Quinn (right), a successful model in her own right, says footballers and their wives still need to plan for their future, or they could be left with nothing. The 40-year-old mother-of-two has revealed she and her Irish international husband were always careful with their money and were encouraged to set up a professional retirement fund by the PFA to use when he was forced to quit. Quinn quit as Sunderland supremo after six years last season and is now a SkySports pundit and running a successful communications business in Ireland which is rapidly expanding into Africa. The 46-year-old former Gaelic footballer carved out a career for nearly two decades with Arsenal, Manchester City and Sunderland and won 92 caps for his country, including two World Cup Finals and scored 21 goals. But his wife revealed the pair always had to watch their money, even when he was at the height of his powers in the English top flight. She said: 'You don’t know what other players are earning or whether they had blown every penny but I did think to myself a few times "you are in for a hell of a shock once the footballer stops earning". ' It was never jealousy or anything like that, but we just knew that we had to think in the long term. 'We have never gone in for major excesses when it comes to spending, we are just a normal couple really. 'Most players are lucky if they play until they are 35, so that’s why we invested money in that – it’s a good idea to have money for a rainy day, especially in football. Niall was never earning gazillions anyway. 'Football wasn’t a career in those days where you would walk away with thousands in your pocket every week. 'Niall and I were never into flashy cars or anything like that, we don’t care what we drive. 'We had no choice but to be sensible, I came from a normal background and I have never had loads of money, so I have always worked very hard for what I have.'



