Greece manager Gus Poyet has dismissed Keith Andrews' claims that Greece has a spy in the Ireland camp, labelling it a 'cheap shot' ahead of their game in Dublin tonight.
Ireland's chances of reaching Euro 2024 are hanging by a thread, and a second defeat to Greece in this campaign will all but end any chance of Ireland reaching the upcoming finals.
Tensions between both camps have grown since the initial clash in Athens in June, following Matt Doherty's red card.
Keith Andrews on Gus Poyet getting Irish people in from English club to assist his preparation against Ireland Pre Athens and reckons that had a part to play in Greece knowing Ireland's tactics and system of play in the Euro 2024 qualifier in June.
🗣 @DavidSneyd
The full… pic.twitter.com/siTWbn40Fu— Irish Football Fan TV (@irishfantv) October 10, 2023
Andrews, the Ireland assistant manager, has added further fuel to the fire this week by suggesting that Poyet and Greece might be getting inside information from Irish coaches in England ahead of the game.
One of the coaches seemingly caught in the war of words is 37-year-old Irish coach Gary Dicker, who currently works at Brighton & Hove Albion. Dicker is said to have attended a Greece training session before Greece's 2-1 win over Ireland in June.
Andrews, speaking earlier in the week, said, "In terms of this upcoming game, I’m not going to say anything here that’s going to jeopardise anything, because I am sure he [Poyet] will be reading, and possibly getting some Irish staff from clubs around England to come in and watch his training session and have an opinion or view that might help in his game plan.
"He is quite clever, very experienced in his preparation. He said certain things post-game, where he alluded to having done his homework... It is out there, it is not me coming up with it; there was a text on my phone. It is out there, so I am sure you will look into it."
Poyet has denied the claims made by the Irish native and stated that he has never invited anyone into the Greek training camp to observe their preparations. Poyet also added that Ireland's tactics under Stephen Kenny meant that his camp never needed to do what his team and staff are allegedly accused of by Andrews.
"I don’t know Keith. From the outside, I’ve seen him talk on television and the way he played football, I thought he was an intelligent man, and he made a mistake, a big mistake,"he added.
"First, I don’t invite people to watch my training. I don’t. Secondly, nobody told me how the Republic of Ireland plays.
"Third, if you look at how your country played before they played us: France at home, 5-4-1. Three days before that, they played Latvia, 5-3-2. How did they play against us? 5-3-2 in the first half, 5-4-1 in the second.
"Do you really think I need information? Let’s say he is young, made a mistake, made excuses. But I was disappointed, very disappointed."
Poyet also praised Dicker, the coach caught up in the storm, and claimed that he had never held talks with him. Poyet stated that Andrews' claims were 'cheap'.
"Gary is one of the most intelligent players I had in my time at Brighton. He is a proper Irishman. Proper.
"And I promise you – this is one thing that is important – we talked more about how well Brighton plays than the Republic of Ireland.
"Definitely, Gary had nothing to do with that. He was in Greece, yes, he was. He went to the game, and the day he came to Greek training, we did nothing to show him, in case he informed the Republic of Ireland.
"He (Doherty) played for Atletico Madrid, didn't he? When he was in Spain, was he not watching the games? Was he on another planet? It's football.
"Gary is a very honest man; he is a top bloke. It was a cheap accusation, very cheap."
"He made a big mistake, because he's lying" - Greece boss Gus Poyet has responded to comments made by Republic of Ireland assistant manager Keith Andrews amid a row ahead of tomorrow night's Euro 2024 qualifier https://t.co/xopWbA5ilp #RTEsoccer pic.twitter.com/Sk72Yaymt7
— RTÉ Soccer (@RTEsoccer) October 12, 2023
Match Details
Fixture: Republic of Ireland v GreeceCompetition: UEFA EURO 2024 Qualifying Date: Friday, October 13Kick-off: 7.45pmVenue: Aviva StadiumTV: RTE Match OfficialsReferee: Gleen Nyberg (SWE)Assistant Referee 1: Mahbod Beigi (SWE)Assistant Referee 2: Andreas Söderqvist (SWE)Fourth Official: Adam Ladebäck (SWE)Video Assistant Referee: Tomasz Kwiatkowski (POL)Assistant Video Assistant Referee: Bartosz Frankowski (POL)
