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Coleman expects Ireland improv...

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Coleman expects Ireland improvement this autumn


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Republic of Ireland captain Seamus Coleman is hoping they'll be at their best when they face tougher tests in their bid to qualify for Euro 2020.

Mick McCarthy's side made hard work of beating Gibraltar two-nil at the Aviva Stadium last night.

Robbie Brady scored a late header to add to a first-half own goal to extend their lead to five points at the top of Group D.

Ireland take on Switzerland, Denmark and Georgia this autumn and Coleman thinks they'll play better in those games.

"We know people came here expecting to see some goals - we would have loved that ourselves. It would have been great to score early and then get a second to put the game beyond them. We didn't do that. We understand that pressure comes with the job and people won't be very happy with the performance.

"But we've got 10 points from 12 and that's how we look at it as professionals. The manager is happy with our points on the board. We've got some big games coming up and that's where we'll be tested. We went to Denmark and tried to play on the front foot. They played around us at times because they've got some quality, but I think sometimes it probably suits us playing against the bigger teams."

The Everton defender says they're looking forward to taking on Nations League semi-finalists Switzerland in September.

"We can only deal with what's in front of us. We know we've got some very tough games coming up and they're going to be the deciding games. We've got a bit of a headstart. Hopefully we can perform well, play on the front foot and make it difficult for them. I don't think they'll want to play us either, so it'll be interesting in September."


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