Refocusing To Next Goal

It has been a marvellously successful year to date. 3 Benelux victories from 4 (the other a narrow loss in the final), The Nations Cup won and a strong finish by the B's in Benelux. Can there be a downside? Of course.

With such a high turnover of players, many of the new lads have never tasted defeated. They think we are the best, that winning is easy and I presume they also think that the Pan-Euro's won't throw up much more by way of competition. Maybe they don't but certain things in recent weeks suggest the guard may be dropping and Munich could be where the true lessons are dished out.

Attendances have dipped in recent weeks, especially by some of the 'A team' regulars. I've seen fellas going into pubs when they should be on the way to training. Other lads were out drinking before the last tournament. Even for the hurling, a good lash of lads were on the batter. I've held my council to date. The first goal for the season was Benelux and we achieved that. The big challenge was going to be how to keep ticking over in the summer and we pretty much solved that with the Intra club league. There has been plenty of socialising too, maybe too much. Even though I totally disagree with the regularity with which fellas drink and am completely opposed to the notion of touching even a drop on the eve of a game, I also realise we are where we are and guys simply have conflicting priorities. With these issues, I have often been accused of being too extreme but I've held myself back well here.

As I said, the new guys only know winning. The bulk of the rest arrived in 2009 and that was a tough slog so at least they know what it's like to lose. However, what they don't know is what very few of the existing panel know and that is what it takes to win a European Championship. What we will face in the Pan-Euros will be many notches up from what we have faced to date. These Championships are hard won. We will have to go to Munich, Budapest and Maastricht and fight like dogs for ever single point. In 2008, that was the way. Paris in Rennes; a mighty comeback to win something like 0-6 to 0-5. Den Hague in Maastricht; back from the dead. It was epic and it was dramatic. It took balls and spirit and grit. We've not had to show it in the same way this year yet, so the jury is still out on many fellas.

Keary texted me just before midnight last night telling me he had just found his 2008 winners medal and holding it brought back the memories. He was saying he thought fellas didn't necessarily know what it was going to take to win it again this year. His text was remarkably timed. I was rolling around in bed trying to sleep, thinking about the exact same thing. Earlier, I'd been re-reading passages of Roy Keane's book. It was the bit about complacency creeping in when United got a bit of success; fellas taking the foot of the pedal, standards dropping, that kind of stuff. I was relating it all to our situation.

Now, don't get me wrong, there is no need to hit the panic button at the moment. Our build up for Munich starts this week so no-one has a casting judgement hanging on them. We all need to step up now and drive it on. What guys need to understand before they get taught a lesson by one of our opponents, is that they need to put in a ferocious amount of work to achieve in the autumn. The satisfaction Keary still remembers has yet to be topped for me in any sporting activity I have participated in. The ownership you feel of success here is far greater than what you would derive from success at home, at least what I have experienced.

The quality is there, the fitness and football should be there in time. What we need to get right sits on our shoulders. Totally tuned in, totally focused, totally obsessed. You get few opportunities to win things.

Paris will look to build on last year when they came so close. There’s determined guys down there and good footballers. The Hague will have said to themselves that Benelux didn’t matter this year, time the run for the Pan-Euros. We said the same last year but mistimed it. Time will tell if they have got it right. Then there is Budapest, loaded with talent. They will think there time has come. Not to forget the others, Lux if they keep that team together and also, there seems to be something brewing up in Scandanavia.

Writing this gets the blood flowing. Training tonight, 19h30, the start of the next leg of the journey.