OPINION
Wolves manager Nuno Espírito Santo must be fuming with Republic of Ireland boss Martin O’Neill over his clueless treatment of Matt Doherty.
The 26-year-old Wolves right-back got a rare opportunity to feature for O’Neill’s side when the Republic of Ireland took on Denmark on Saturday and would have been disappointed with how his performance went.
However it wasn’t Doherty’s fault that he failed to look good on the international stage, it was O’Neill’s as he stacked the odds against him by playing the defender out of position.
The Republic of Ireland boss opted to play the Wolves right-back further up the field than he is used to and Doherty looked unable to make any kind of a positive impact.
The 26-year-old at times looked like a deer in the headlines as he was unable to show the quality that he possess and it was hard not to feel sorry for him.
O’Neill’s clueless treatment of the Wolves player continued after the 0-0 draw with Denmark, as his remarks showed the lack of awareness over the potential damage to Doherty’s confidence that he could have done.
“We were accommodating young Doherty as much as anything else,” said the international boss, as quoted by the Irish Independent .
“We were trying to make it as easy for him as possible. He has played in a number of positions for Wolves and in debut in front of his home crowd competitively, we wanted to try and make it as easy for him as possible.”
O’Neill didn’t make it as easy as possible for Doherty, quite the opposite, and his remarks attempted to rip away any defence Doherty had for a disappointing display.
Wolves manager Nuno must be furious over the whole situation as with confidence playing an important part in a player’s form, he won’t be happy that O’Neill’s use of his player could negatively effect him for his domestic side.
The Wolves senior man is no doubt aware that Doherty has proven to be an important part of his team this season as he has looked at home playing in the Premier League in the eight appearances he has made so far.
If O’Neill didn’t want to use the 26-year-old properly then he shouldn’t have messed him about and Nuno should be fuming that his player may have an international hangover from his latest performance as it was completely avoidable.