Sunday 12 October 2014 15:36, UK
Niall Quinn says that Ireland need to keep their feet on the ground after beating Gibraltar 7-0 on Saturday night.
Robbie Keane became the Republic's all-time top goalscorer in European Championship qualifiers with his hat-trick, while James McClean scored a brace to add to Wes Hoolahan's strike and an own goal from Gibraltar goalkeeper Jordan Perez.
It was Gibraltar's second successive 7-0 defeat in qualifying after losing to Poland as Ireland made it two wins out of two ahead of Tuesday's daunting trip to World Cup winners Germany.
“Martin O’Neill has to make sure that his players do not get a false sense of security,” said Niall Quinn on Sky Sports.
“It was a lovely win for them against Gibraltar but they have to be so at it on Tuesday night. This game was about getting the job done right but now the need to apply the mind to a different task – and a much tougher task.
“A different approach will be needed and Ireland will need to be on their guard every second of the 90 minutes. Against Gibraltar they could afford to switch off at times and play Shangri La football – but that is going to be totally different on Tuesday evening.”
Concerns?
Quinn says that it is hard to be picky on Ireland after a wonderful win but still has some concerns regarding the right-back position for Ireland.
“The only concern you can pick out from a great win like this is the problem at right-back. We don’t know if they are solved or not because David Meyler was not tested in the slightest.
“If he plays on Tuesday you know he will get tested an awful lot more. He is getting to be a mature player now but it is a whole new position for him, International football is different anyway but now playing out of position against the world champions, well that might just be a concern.
“I think they will set up differently for Germany and I don’t think we will see O’Neill urging his players to go forward to create things – I am not saying that they are going to park the bus, but I think we will see a sterner approach to keep Germany at bay for long periods.”
