Ireland captain Shane Duffy tackles Bulgaria’s Galin Ivanov during the Uefa Nations League match in Sofia. Photograph: Vassil Donev/EPA
The politics of succession are delicate: how many veterans can you cull in one go? An experienced player who loses his place to a younger rival is unlikely to forget or forgive; 15 years later he’ll probably still be doing bitter interviews about how your training sessions were basic and the step-up to international level was too much for a manager of your pedigree.
You certainly don’t want to have to go crawling back to that experienced player after your much-hyped youngsters have lost their first couple of games. Better to give the experienced ones a chance to show they can stay relevant to the team.
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