Euro 2012: I was right to stick by Ireland’s veteran stars – Trapattoni

Giovanni Trapattoni has defended his selection of the Republic of Ireland’s veteran stars after they failed to earn a single point in a disastrous Euro 2012 campaign.

Goals from Italy’s Antonio Cassano and Mario Balotelli inflicted Ireland’s third successive defeat of the European championship, with the performances of Robbie Keane, Richard Dunne and Shay Given heavily scrutinised.

The 73-year-old failed to give promising prospects such as Shane Long and James McClean a chance to impress, but the Ireland manager insisted he was right to show loyalty to the country’s experienced internationals.

“When you do your job well – until now, I think they have played well for our country, and we must have a reason,” said Trapattoni.

“In your job, when you get old, if they gave you a pension and say. ‘Go’ without respect, what would you think?

“It’s not loyalty only, it’s correct. We asked them [on Monday] for a good performance and we played very well. We played at the same level as Italy.

“We need a reason to change it on the pitch. [Aiden] McGeady played well, [Kevin] Doyle played well, also Robbie.

“It’s not loyalty, it’s respect because they helped us to achieve qualification and we must give them the honour of playing.

“You are not sure that if you make changes, the result will be any different. It’s 50-50. When you are sure, you can change, but only after the 90 minutes can you be sure that the change is good.

“Until now is has been good, and I can’t just turn the page and forget about it. It’s not professional, it is not correct.”

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