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McCarthy rues unlucky exit

Steve Tongue
Tuesday 18 June 2002 00:00 BST
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Having originally tipped Spain as potential World Cup winners, Mick McCarthy now believes they are no longer a good bet after they exhausted themselves eliminating his Republic of Ireland side.

It is an assertion that was given added credence when the midfielder David Albelda, whose injury caused Spain to play the whole of extra time with 10 men, was ruled out of the quarter-final against Italy or South Korea on Saturday. Luis Enrique is also doubtful, though their joint leading scorer Raul should be fit.

"I think we might have done them irreparable damage because they'll be physically and emotionally very, very tired," McCarthy said. "But I also wonder now what we might have achieved if we'd gone through. We played as well as anyone in this tournament."

Even as Europe's longest-serving international coach – he has now been in the job for six years and four months – McCarthy accepts that his prospects of extending that tenure would not have been bright if Ireland had failed to come through a difficult group.

"My backside would have been on the bacon-slicer," he said. "It's a very fickle world I live in. I didn't expect it all to be as tough and as difficult as it was in the goldfish bowl here, but I'm sure it will make me a better coach and a better person. Now we have to qualify for back-to-back tournaments and I think we've got a very good chance."

What the manager and his team can take into the 2002 European Championship is a record as impressive as any. Since Monday's match is officially recorded as a draw, Ireland have been beaten only twice in 23 competitive matches (1-0 against Iran and Croatia) since the start of 1999.

McCarthy's decision to stay on means there will be no international recall for Roy Keane, whose row with the coach led to his departure before the start of the tournament.

"There is no way back for Roy," a source close to McCarthy said. "He has said he will never play for Ireland as long as Mick is manager, and he is in for a long wait."

After the match McCarthy himself said: "That name should not even be mentioned when we are talking about the efforts of the 22 players out here over the last month. We should still be in the World Cup... We have just played Spain off the park and lost, so please celebrate [the players] and their achievement."

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