Monday 13 October 2014 10:44, UK
Tuesday’s encounter with Georgia is now of huge importance to the Gibraltar team, as much for their own confidence as to stem the flow of goals they have conceded in their two brutal defeats to Poland and the Republic of Ireland, writes Sky Sports News' David Garrido.
The one common denominator for those first two European Qualifiers is that Gibraltar were caught cold and dropped their concentration levels at the start of the second half, and on both occasions that led to them shipping four goals in less than a quarter of an hour.
Gibraltar's road has always been a bumpy road.
The difference in Dublin was that it could easily have been more, had Ireland been more urgent and clinical in the final 30 minutes. And now if a destructive pattern truly emerges courtesy of another hammering back in Faro, it could do untold damage psychologically.
Manager Allen Bula’s decision to substitute keeper Jordan Perez after the seventh goal will be discussed and debated, but it now seems inevitable that Jamie Robba will start against Georgia in Faro.
Equally, although the desire not to ‘park the bus’ is admirable, the manager needs to help his squad find that defensive security for prolonged periods within matches, so that their self-belief can grow and the players can feel they truly belong at this level.
“We’re all learning,” says Bula, and perhaps now it really is sinking in just how steep that learning curve is. And just as important as coaching his squad of mainly part-timers and semi-professionals physically, tactically and technically is the ability to manage, monitor and mentor them off the training pitch too.
Above all, it’s about how to access and inspire that most Gibraltarian of qualities - their defiant determination and fighting spirit. If that begins to erode even slightly, this qualifying campaign could descend to levels comparable to San Marino.
While his players had to cope with the intensity of performing in front of 35,000 at the Aviva Stadium, the 49-year-old himself is well aware that his every decision and comment is being witnessed by not thousands, but millions of people.
The glare of the world’s media is rarely a kind, comforting light, as dozens of cameras point squarely at him in the dugout or at news conferences. And Bula has already had to field questions about his own future, if more 7-0-esque scorelines emerge, the focus will sharpen, and the knives may well too.
The cricket-score losses have attracted harsh headlines, and the “minnows” and “whipping boys” references are ones that irk Bula, who believes passionately that his country deserves more respect than that.
But arguably more painful is the suggestion that Gibraltar don’t deserve to play European qualifiers at all, with some pundits claiming these latest results prove it is all a total waste of everyone’s time.
For the Gibraltar FA, who won a long legal battle to earn the right to join UEFA and face a similar challenge to do likewise with FIFA, the emphasis also has to be on devising the right long-term strategy to achieve credibility in the years and decades to come.
These are painful but necessary steps, and the belief has to be in the notion that future generations will reap the rewards.
“Gibraltar’s road has always been a bumpy road,” says Bula. Georgia on Tuesday could provide another jolt. But at least if they can take the blow and find something to draw on to continue the journey, it will be worth it, eventually.
Watch Gibraltar take on Georgia live on Sky Sports 5 (Red Button) from 7.45pm on Tuesday.
