Fermanagh man Tom Mohan is facing a daunting task as he leads the Republic of Ireland U17 team into next month’s European Championships, having been pitched against England, Holland and Italy in the group stages.

It is a group of death draw against the powerhouses of world football and the manager is under no illusion about the size of the task facing his young team.

“It’s a difficult group, there is no doubt,” admitted Tom. “Those teams have had great success at underage level. England have won a couple of under 17 titles over the last number of years and Holland are the same. When you are competing in finals they all have good players and at this stage of the tournament you are not going to get an easy draw. They have all come through a qualifying phase and an elite phase so you are coming up against the cream of the crop.” Despite being underdogs, Tom is approaching the tournament in a positive frame of mind.

“We have worked hard to get here and there is great excitement among players and staff,” he said as he looked towards their opening fixture against Holland on May 7.

“The Netherlands they always produce very good players. We have been doing a bit of homework on them and trying to identify their strengths and weaknesses. They are going to be difficult opponents but we have to approach them in a positive manner. You can only look at your next game. If you look too far down the line you lose sight of things, so the big thing is to focus on the fact that we have played some very good stuff and scored some very good goals along the way. Obviously we have conceded a few which happens when you are attacking teams, but we would have a lot of attacking players and we try to play to our strengths.” Tom, originally from Aghadrumsee, played local football with Lisnaskea Rovers before leaving the Fermanagh and Western League to play for Omagh Town, Derry City and Finn Harps. After his playing career was over he moved into coaching, and is now working with some of Ireland brightest talents. Many of the players in his European Championship squad play their football in the United Kingdom, with team members on the books of Liverpool, Everton, Wolves and Celtic in addition to those still plying their trade in the League of Ireland.

The squad will be hoping to make an impression on the international stage to boost their careers, and Tom is appreciative of the close links with the first team. “Last year Roy Keane spent a couple of days with the group in a training camp we had in England and spoke to the players and came to training and matches,” he said. “He was very good with the players and spoke to the players and staff very well. That was a great boost for everyone, and then Martin O’Neill sent us a DVD wishing us the best of luck when we were going into our final game in the elite phase. There is a good link there and they are constantly monitoring players.” The championships will be held in Bulgaria next month and with the kick off in sight Tom and his team are busy ensuring the team are well prepared.

“There is currently a lot of hard work going on and a lot of preparation,” he said. “We were out there a few weeks ago for the day, which was just a couple of days after the elite phase finished. We went on site visits to see the stadiums, training grounds and our accommodation, so there was no time to bask in the glory of qualifying. We have a training camp next week for six days and we are trying to get players and staff organised for that. I am heading over to watch some of our opponents this week and getting information on opponents.

“The whole logistics surrounding it are massive. There is a lot of unseen work, but at this stage we just can’t wait for the football to start!”