Seamus Coleman has told his Ireland teammates to play with their heads rather than their hearts when they launch their new Nations League campaign against England on Saturday.
Clashes between the neighbours from either side of the Irish Sea always have an added edge given the two nations’ shared history and political differences, and the chance to get one over on the old enemy, as Ireland did at Euro ’88, is one generations of Republic players have relished.
However, 35-year-old Everton full-back Coleman knows too much emotion can be counter-productive and has urged his team-mates to be “smart” as they look for another famous victory.
He said: “You can most certainly tap into the emotional side of it, but I think that goes, to be honest with you, for any time you put on that green jersey for Ireland and I get those lads into a huddle beforehand.
“You can tap into the emotional side of it all because it is about the historic game and England our rivals coming over. For us lads, we’re representing our country, unbelievably proud to do so as well.
“There are some amazing journeys along the way for those lads, myself included, to get to this level. We can tap into the emotional side, of course, it doesn’t matter if that’s England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, it doesn’t matter because you’re playing for your country.
“Hopefully we can do that in a positive way tomorrow. But we can’t just be gung-ho with emotion, you have to have a smart head as well for sure.”
The Republic go into the game with a new boss following Heimir Hallgrimsson’s appointment as Stephen Kenny’s replacement, and they will face and England side under the temporary charge of former Ireland midfielder Lee Carsley as the Football Association’s search
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