Losing at international level is much harder to take than losing at club level, David Meyler revealed at Off The Ball’s Aviva Roadshow in association with Pepsi Max.
While losing for your club also is not easy to take, the former Republic of Ireland defender felt that losing for your country is made worse by the long periods in between games.
“It still does affect you. That Denmark game, I’m scarred for life after that. It was the first Irish game my wife ever came to as well.
“I’ll never forget this. So I came up after and she had a couple of glasses of prosecco and was a bit giddy. She said, ‘What form is David going to be in?’ And my dad said, ‘You’re never coming again.’
“But look, it’s hard. I think Ireland hits you harder than at club level. Especially with what Brian [Kerr] is saying.
“Obviously he was a manager at the time, with the fact that you have a long time to wait until the next game,” Meyler said.
'At club level, it's like a machine'
Despite Ireland coming off an impressive victory away to Wales, the boys in green were well beaten at home to the Danes, succumbing to a 5-1 defeat.
The Cork native feels that the lengthy gap in between games could have played a role in that catastrophic day at the Aviva Stadium.
“If you look at when we beat Wales you nearly wanted the next game to roll on three or four days later. But you have to wait for a whole month.
“Then you have boys that go back to their clubs. Some are playing regularly, some aren’t.
“Some go through good form, some go through bad form. Goalscorers, suspensions, the whole lot. It can be difficult.
“When you’re at club level, it’s like a machine. Especially if you play in the Championship. You can’t stop to think,” Meyler commented.
Brian Kerr and Damien Delaney were speaking at our latest roadshow from the Aviva Stadium in association with Pepsi Max. The full chat with Brian Kerr, Stephanie Roche, David Meyler and Damien Delaney will be released on Tuesday night on our Facebook and Youtube channels #OTBAviva #ForTheLoveOfIt
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