Séamus Coleman admits he will continue to be haunted by Ireland’s shock World Cup qualification defeat to Luxembourg.
Losing 3-2 to second seeds Serbia in March was hardly a surprise but the 1-0 defeat inflicted three days later by a side ranked 98 in the world represented a new low in the team’s slump.
Ireland skipper Coleman didn’t try to make excuses and admitted that pride, as much as points, is the target for the remainder of the campaign.
Stephen Kenny’s side resume the qualifiers on September 1 against European champions Portugal in Faro before hosting Azerbaijan and Serbia.
"Portugal will be a tough test but we’ve to go out there and put some pride back in that shirt,” said the Everton defender.
“That Luxembourg defeat won’t be erased from my memory.
"It was a massively disappointing night and one that, as I said at the time, we have to take on the chin.
“It’s not about feeling sorry for yourself because the media rightly gave us a hard time for it. It was well deserved.
“We can’t put that result right as such. But we have to go out and put pride back in the shirt by trying to get a big performance and a result to claw back the defeat we gave away.”
Results during the March window already leave Ireland trailing Portugal and Serbia by seven points but Coleman isn’t giving up on Ireland’s faint hopes of reaching next year’s World Cup in Qatar.
“It would be very wrong of me to say that we can’t get something out of it," he insisted.
“There is no doubt the results have been disappointing. But all I can say is that the summer camp in Spain was positive and we go into the next international game with an opportunity to win it.
“I know I didn’t play but the lads will take great confidence from the camp and the games against Andorra and Hungary.
“We will be going into the Portugal game looking to win. We have three qualifiers but Portugal will be our focus.
“I know Portugal got knocked out of the Euros but I thought their first XI was quite strong.
“It won’t make a difference to us that they went out early at the last-16 stage.
“There is that much of a break in between then and our qualifiers. There are a few months now and club games will have started back by that stage.”
Kenny has concentrated on blooding youngsters but 32-year-old Coleman, who was previously outspoken about the Louis Vuitton generation of footballers, won’t be slow in emphasising the priorities to the new cohort.
“Just because you've played once or twice for Ireland - well for me it doesn't - doesn't mean you're a full-on international,” he asserted.
“It can be taken away from you as quickly, so you need to always have that hunger, that desire to keep improving, working hard and never for a second think you've made it.
"The lads are only in and I don't really know their personalities yet but my duty as a senior player is to lead by example.”
Meanwhile, Coleman believes England will fare well in the Euros – but stopped short of tipping them for a first trophy in 55 years.
Coleman’s Everton teammate Jordan Pickford has yet to concede a goal in the tournament while his former colleague John Stones has been immense during their march to the quarter-finals.
The Ireland skipper said: "Listen, I'm not going to make headlines about me not wanting England to win the Euros but I think they will do well.
"I've no influence in what they do, whether they go on and win it or how they will get on but I think they'll go far in the tournament with the side of the draw they're on.
Coleman has been impressed by Gareth Southgate’s decision-making – especially for Tuesday’s 2-0 win over Germany.
“He changed the shape and formation and some people probably thought it was a bit defensive.
“But I felt that he got it spot on. He stayed tight, they looked in control of the game and didn't look like conceding anything and he had a couple of players on the bench to change the game.
"They did that and won comfortably in the end.”
Seamus Coleman has launched SPAR’s Better Choices summer 2021 campaign, bringing healthier food and refreshment options into Irish homes, gardens and parks for all the family to enjoy this summer. SPAR has also created a specially curated online hub at www.spar.ie/betterchoices providing customers with delicious recipes and suggested shopping lists. Available now in more than 400 SPAR stores across Ireland, SPAR Better Choices products are easily identifiable by the green sticker.
