By some distance, Matt Doherty is the most experienced player in the Republic of Ireland squad.
He has accumulated 53 caps for his country since 2018, while also racking up 181 appearances in the Premier League for Tottenham Hotspur and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Next in line is Josh Cullen on 43 caps, while Nathan Collins has played 118 matches in the Premier League.
As recently as March, Doherty flung himself at a Cullen pass to head the goal that beat Bulgaria in Plovdiv to help keep Ireland in Nations League B.
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And yet, the 33-year-old’s display at left back in the 2-2 draw with Hungary at the Aviva Stadium on Saturday prompted a rash of social media calls for him to be dropped ahead of Tuesday’s second World Cup qualifier against Armenia in Yerevan.
Doherty is shipping more blame than his teammates for the collective early collapse in concentration that saw the visitors take a 2-0 lead.
Before training under a 30-degree sun in Yerevan on Monday afternoon, Heimir Hallgrímsson declined to reveal if Doherty and Nathan Collins, two right footed players, would continue on the left side of the Ireland back four against Armenia.
The Icelander was terse in his responses when asked if the defence needed to be changed.
“Nathan plays on the left side a lot and Doc has played left full-back as well.”
In fact, Doherty only started four of his 53 appearances for Ireland on the left.
“If they looked uncomfortable I don’t know if it was because they were, or [because of] the opponent’s positioning, but no I do not think so,” countered the Ireland manager. ”Both Nathan and Doc have played these positions a lot so they shouldn’t be uncomfortable.”
Ryan Manning could replace Doherty on Tuesday with Mikey Johnston filling Manning’s role on the left wing.
Last year, Hallgrímsson dropped Doherty from the Ireland squad, which prompted the Wolves player to state that he felt “disrespected” by Hallgrímsson.
Doherty was moved across the backline last weekend so Hallgrímsson could start Jake O’Brien at right-back. The pair were selected ahead of Séamus Coleman who could come into consideration for the October qualifier against Portugal in Lisbon if he can regain match fitness.
