Lessons learned as confident Nathan Collins looks to Greece game

A tough week but a necessary one for the Ireland squad ahead of the trip to Athens to face Greece in next week's Euro 2024 qualifier.

That was the word coming out of the warm-weather training camp in the Antalya resort from Ireland centre-half Nathan Collins, who admits that lessons were learned from last year’s shock defeat to Armenia.

Collins believes that the defeat in Yerevan, which also came in the first fixture of the June international window was not necessarily a case of standards slipping rather the hot humid conditions sapping the energy right out of the team during the second half of the 1-0 defeat.

Ireland manager Stephen Kenny readily admits that they got things wrong in the build up to that game last summer, and was taking no chances this time around as he filled the six-week gap between the end of the English season for the Championship contingent by introducing a Bristol training camp, followed swiftly by the ongoing nine-day stay in the Turkish sun.

"We’re all excited for it now," said Collins, speaking to RTE football correspondent Tony O’Donoghue in Antalya.

"We’ve had a tough week here. The weather has got to us all, a bit of sunstroke, but we’re ready to go. The standard will always be there, no matter what, but the most important thing is to get accustomed to the weather.

"It was a great idea to come out here early, to get used to this weather, and it was needed."

And looking back to the game in Armenia, Collins feels that had things gone a little differently, Ireland could have had control of proceedings by half-time, but as a result paid the price in the second half.

"The weather is similar to what it was like in Armenia, and we all know what that game was really tough. One run and you could be struggling