Matt Doherty demands patience ahead of Slovakia play-off

It’s been a hectic few weeks for Irish international Matt Doherty.

He completed his move from Wolves to Spurs for €16.7m (over €1m of which is expected to be handed over to previous club Bohemians), started off the season with a 1-0 loss to a resurgent Everton, and has since played a series of Europa League qualifiers across the continent.

So how has he found the move? “I’ve settled in really, really well” he replies when asked. “ It’s been a really top class month for me and I’ve loved every minute of it.”

His move came at a time when Tottenham, and their coach Jose Mourinho in particular, were being scrutinised following the release of their Amazon documentary series. 

He previously admitted that the Mourinho on our screens is not the same one he meets on the training pitch, but how has working with the two-time Champions League winning coach compared to the early days of Stephen Kenny’s Ireland reign?

“They both have a winning mentality,” Doherty admits.

“They both want to win every game they play. This is my second time now with Stephen and his philosophy is definitely coming through.”

It’s Kenny’s ability to imbue his own style of play in a relatively short space of time that will play a large part in tonight's Euro 2020 play-off semi-final against Slovakia.

“We obviously have a game-plan,” Doherty says.

“A way we want to play, to press, to attack but at the end of the day the way you attack, going forward you’ve got to let people’s natural ability and talent take over.



“We obviously have patterns of play but if someone wants to do something special and take people on and put the ball in the net you’re obviously not going to say no.”

Patience will be key tonight, as both sides will be looking to ensure that the opening goal goes in their favour, and if it doesn’t, will be looking to avoid committing people forward too early.

“I think there’s enough of us in the squad that have enough experience among us to not panic,” Doherty believes.

"None of us panic at club level when we’re 1-0 down, all of us will be saying to stay in the game so I don’t think anyone will be panicking if that is the case.

“Teams go behind in games all the time. We went behind to [Manchester] United at the weekend and won 1-6. We’re all capable of doing something to score.”

A lot of discussion in the media in the run up to the game has been how Kenny will decide between Ireland captain Seamus Coleman and Matt Doherty, both of whom are aiming for the same position.



A hamstring injury for Coleman on Saturday whilst playing for Everton has ruled him out for this set of fixtures, but Doherty was clear to point out that any rivalry is purely speculation.

“There’s no rivalry like that. I think we motivate each other. When I play he’s fully supportive and when he plays I’m fully supportive. 

"We understand the situation. There’s no animosity between us."

It’s been a long journey for Doherty, and tonight will mark the pinnacle of his rise to becoming one of Ireland’s most crucial players.

“Things have gone almost perfect for me in the past few years,” he admits.

“I wouldn’t change anything apart from this really, so if this was to happen it’d be pretty special.

"Especially considering the games are in Dublin, hopefully with fans back in the stadiums by that stage, the atmosphere in the country would be incredible.”