No spy among Irish friends, claims angry Poyet
In a week when football is playing second fiddle to rugby in Ireland, it was fitting for a curve ball to ignite tensions.
The complexion of Ireland’s European Championship group is developing as predicted, with France and Netherlands leaving Ireland and Greece behind to jostle for an inconsequential third place.
No matter what Stephen Kenny spins, his side are out of the equation to snaffle one of the two tickets to Germany next year.
Gus Poyet stressed last night the 18-point mark his Greece team could reach may not be sufficient to usurp the Dutch. The maximum Ireland can haul is 12 points.
That point on football matters was a rare diversion from the mind games enveloping the build-up to the fixture that will likely decide which nation suffers the ignominy of having just Gibraltar behind them in the table when the campaign concludes next month.
It all began on Tuesday with Keith Andrews.
Kenny’s assistant didn’t need much prodding in the context of the June defeat in Athens to claim Poyet availed of his Irish connections to gain inside prior knowledge of the Irish gameplan.
Matt Doherty waded in too, floating the conspiracy of Greek ‘acting’ influencing the sending-off he incurred late on that 2-1 defeat.
Kenny echoed that view during his pre-match musings, adding time-wasting tactics by ‘seven players’ to the rap sheet.
Poyet shipped a couple of nasty Roy Keane tackles on the pitch during his spell at Chelsea but, as the Greek team’s figurehead, wasn’t allowing these barbs from compatriots to go unchallenged.
“It was very sad and disappointing,” said the Uruguayan, admitting the comments were relayed to him.
“I don't know Keith. From the outside, watching him talking on television and the way he played football, I
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