Kerr on the Hotseat

CATHAL DERVAN

BRIAN Kerr is tetchy right now. That was as clear as day in a Ballsbridge hotel last Friday lunchtime as he announced the 23-man squad to face Canada in a fairly meaningless friendly next Tuesday night.

Kerr, on his first public appearance since the debacle that was Basel, did try to patch up his battered image at the Dublin press conference.

And he has, to be fair, tried to build some bridges in the wake of the Euro 2004 disappointment and the first real criticism of his credentials as Irish manager.

Last week he even managed to do a face to face interview with a young tabloid journalist who so irritates him with his constant questioning that Kerr sent text messages to other hacks asking them to get the kid off his back. And he sent that text at 3:30 in the morning!

On Friday, in front of the full glare of the media, written and spoken, he looked tired and stretched, a man not really comfortable with the glare upon him.

Well, he had better get used to it because the real spotlight is about to fall on Brian Kerr and his abilities as an international coach in the coming weeks and months.

That spotlight will be switched on next Tuesday night when the Canadians, hardly the most attractive of opposition, come to town for a game that is as much about television revenue as it is about trying out new players.

And this friendly signals the real beginning of the Brian Kerr era. He can no longer, as he so pathetically attempted to do post-Basel, blame Mick McCarthy for any shortcomings from here on in.

He cannot blame the opening defeats in the Euro qualifiers for his own failure to make major championships.

Now Kerr must stand on his own two feet. He will be judged on his own performances and that of his team over the next two years, and nobody else will be there to take the blame.

The media here at home have long decided that Kerr’s honeymoon is over. That was apparent in the immediate aftermath of Basel, though he has yet to be treated to any of the savage and appalling treatment that came Mick’s way a year ago.

That will come with time. Last Friday, Kerr was subjected to some fairly serious grilling over his decision not to bring Liam Miller to Switzerland, a decision that looks more and more bizarre every time Miller plays for Celtic.

He didn’t like that line of questioning and made it clear. Nor did he take kindly to the suggestion that his Ireland team lacked passion and fight in their final Euro 2004 qualifier, a view that was shared by everyone I spoke to who paid to be at that game.

Kerr is entitled to remain loyal to his players after that gutless performance, but he will soon realize that he will carry the can for them in future with no one else to blame.

He did admit last week that his players will never experience the same level of hurt he felt post-Switzerland. They go back to their clubs and they have day to day football to shield them from the pain and distract them from the blame.

Brian Kerr no longer has that luxury. He is now his own man – I hope he is up to the job but already, I’m sorry to say, I have my doubts.