SEAMUS COLEMAN wants to lead Ireland’s new generation into the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.
Coleman was Irish captain for the Euro 2016 games against Italy and France and is now seen as the heir apparent with the old guard expected to retire in the coming weeks.
Coleman was skipper for the 1-0 win over Italy in Lille and again for the last 16 clash with France on Sunday.
Just 20 seconds into that must-win clash with Italy last Wednesday, Coleman crashed into Mateo De Sciglio and it was a moment that outlined his will to win.
Afterwards, the Everton full-back said he was ‘in the zone’, but the Donegal has played down talk of the armband giving him extra super powers.
“The armband was a bonus, but I just tried to do what I always do – set the tone for the lads,” Coleman said.
“They all followed.
[adrotate group=”38″]“I always thought of myself as a leader. It is an amazing feeling to captain the country at any level.
“It was a special honour. To do it in such a big game that we needed to win and then that we did get the win, it was an incredible feeling. I’ll remember the moment for a long time.
“The manager doesn’t name his team until the last minute. I had no time to think about it. I just put the armband on and tried to lead the team.”
Robbie Brady’s late goal handed Ireland the famous 1-0 win over Italy. A Brady penalty, after just two minutes, dared them to dream on Sunday in Lyon, but Antoine Griezmann’s double fired France through.
[adrotate group=”37″]The performances were in stark contrast to the 3-0 defeat to Belgium.
Coleman said: “The Belgium game was a good game for us. We assessed it and realised how poor we were on the day. We didn’t want to let that happen again.
“We went into the Italy game full of confidence. We got on the ball from the back a bit more.
“I believed that there was a big result in us. We got it against Italy and we got it the right way. We played football and we took confidence into the France game.
[adrotate group=”66″]“It was the same against France. We didn’t fear them whatsoever.
“The had so much in their favour from the support to the amount of days they had to prepare, but we had them under the cosh.”
Ireland’s tournament looked doomed after that Belgium defeat, but in a manner in keeping with their qualifying run the Boys in Green defied the odds. Their hopes of making it to France appeared to be gone after a 1-1 draw with Scotland last June.
But like they did in France, they pulled the embers from the fire.
That they did was, in Coleman’s eyes down to Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane.
[adrotate group=”46″]He said: “I can’t speak highly enough of the manager and Roy. They’ve been brilliant since they’ve come in.
“It was a steady process at the start. They’ve been getting to know us and we’ve been getting to know them. They’ve been figuring out what players they wanted in what system. It took a while.
“The majority of people had us written off, especially after Scotland. There’s a never-say-die attitude in that squad.
“We were written off after Belgium again and we needed the result against Italy. It came from the boss and Roy. They led and we followed.”
Coleman was a boyhood Manchester United fan who looked up Keane and you get a sense that he still idolises the bearded assistant manager.
[adrotate group=”55″]He said: “Roy has been brilliant. What you see is what you get with Roy. He tells you how it is. As professional footballers, there is something wrong with you if you don’t like being told how it is.
“Hopefully they stay together now. No contracts have been signed, but hopefully they’ll be around for another few years because we have exciting times ahead.
“We can take a lot of positives from the campaign.
“It’s been a positive in itself to be disappointed in getting beaten by France. That shows how far we’ve come. We played football the right way and we have a lot of young players coming through.”
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