Nov 12,2024
Former Republic of Ireland winger Keith Treacy believes Heimir Hallgrimsson had been trying to phase Matt Doherty out of the Boys in Green fold as gently as possible before handing the defender a belated call-up as injury cover for this week's UEFA Nations League fixtures against Finland and England.
Doherty was left out of the Ireland squad for the October window despite captain Seamus Coleman's absence leaving a lack of natural full-back depth on the right side.
At the time, manager Hallgrimsson publicly reasoned that his decision did not mark an end to the Wolves full-back's international career but overlooking him was more a case of testing other options with an eye to the longer-term.
In an interview with The42 , Doherty subsequently said he tolerated the omission in light of increasingly scarce game-time for Wolves. But his comment that "obviously I should be in the squad, even if I'm not playing or not going to play I should still obviously be in there" did gain widespread attention.
While the 32-year-old may have expected to be called up for this month, Hallgrimsson again left him out, although the Icelandic coach played down the reverberations from the aforementioned interview.
However, amid a host of injuries in the build-up to Thursday's home fixture against Finland, Doherty has now been recalled, with Ireland assistant John O'Shea saying that it was a "straightforward" decision.
The initial omission still leaves a degree of uncertainty about Doherty's overall status at international level under Hallgrimsson, according to Treacy.
"I think he's had a look at his performances for Ireland over probably the last two years and they just haven't been good enough."
Doherty's role in the second Greece goal in Ireland's 2-0 defeat at the Aviva Stadium in September was particularly noteworthy and Treacy feels that was emblematic of the former Tottenham player's displays defensively.
"We're not even getting into technical mistakes... it's just work-rate and that can never be the case for a professional footballer," he said.
"The Greek goal in particular is one that jumps to mind when Matt is running back.
"You're thinking, 'if you just run, if you smell danger, if you want to defend, you can stop that from happening'.
"I know Matt is probably better going forward than he is defensively but if you're a right-back or a right wing-back which Matt is, you have to be able to defend, you have to smell danger.
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"You have to be better in one-v-one situations. If Matt wants to play in a right wing-back position for Ireland or right-back position, he's going to have to get comfortable in one-v-one situations and he just isn't. He is nowhere near comfortable enough defensively."
In any case, Hallgrimsson has favoured fielding a centre-back - most notably Dara O'Shea - at right full-back. But on Doherty's previous assertain that he "obviously" should be part of Ireland squads, Treacy said that word did not sit right with him.
"Nobody should 'obviously' be in the squad, especially if you're not playing (at club level)," he said.
"I couldn't care if you're playing for Real Madrid, if you're sitting on the bench, you're not sharp, you're not playing minutes.
"Heimir will obviously say there is an exception to the rule. Evan Ferguson is not playing an awful lot at Brighton at the minute but he's a younger lad, he's finding his feet in the game and he looks like he has that bit of talent that can unlock defences and win games for us.
"Matt is a totally different kettle of fish altogether. But when you tell a player he's not in the squad because he's not playing and then there are other people creeping into the squad that aren't playing, it just starts to get a little bit of a divide.
"So I think (Hallgrimsson) is trying to let Matt down easily. The fact that he didn't get picked originally for this squad reinforces that feeling.
"But bringing him back in now and getting him to play, it just makes you think, how is that relationship going to be? Because I know personally I wouldn't have taken it too well."
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