Martin O’Neill backs his men to 'create their own history' and reach next summer's World Cup

The Irish face Denmark in the second leg of their World Cup play-off at Lansdowne Road on Tuesday night

Martin O’Neill has called on his men to step up and deliver against Denmark (Getty)

Martin O’Neill believes the Republic of Ireland’s unique “innate” fighting spirit can help the team “create their own history” and qualify for their first World Cup since 2002.

The Irish face Denmark in the second leg of their play-off at Lansdowne Road on Tuesday and, although the dreary 0-0 first leg in Copenhagen reflected some of the side’s technical deficiencies as they again struggled to score, the manager felt it also displayed the defiance that has taken them so far and through so much adversity.

O’Neill did stress that he believes Ireland will likely need two goals on the night, because it feels unlikely that Denmark will fail to score for the entirety of the 180 minutes of the tie. An away goal would of course put the Danes through in the event of a draw, but O’Neill believes his players will find a way.

He also stated that qualification would surpass the run to the last 16 in the expanded Euro 2016.

“I think they’ve realised, the great experience of the Euros, that was fantastic that evening as we mentioned against Bosnia. I think the players here - some of them who didn’t experience that - want to create their own history if they can. That would be lovely if they can.”

The fall-out from the first leg saw the Danish side become the latest opponents to genuinely praise the fight of the Irish - despite some implicit criticisms of the defensive approach - and O’Neill said it is something inherent that has also been maximised by the current squad.

“I would hope that it is something that is innate in the country,” O’Neill said. “I think the players have fantastic spirit. I think the thing is important to have that. The side is made up of certain components and this is a very strong element of it.

It shouldn’t be everything in our side because eventually, as well as spirit, we need to be able to try and play as well too. I think if you’ve got the element of, that sort of spirit can overcome a number of hurdles during the campaign. We have to win matches in other manners. But I think it’s inbred not only in the team but also in the country.

O'Neill's men have shown "fantastic spirit" during their World Cup qualifying campaign (Getty)

“I think we have to score a couple of goals. I really think that is the case. I think holding Denmark out for two matches is going to be very difficult. We have to bear that in mind. Our mindset is we want to create and two, we better score.

“We have to find the net and we think we’re capable of doing it. It won’t be easy and it’s a tough match for us, a really tough game. It’s as simple as that. We find everything tough, it’s the nature of us. We don’t have all the skills that maybe other nations have. We have to find it in different manners, I’ve said that umpteen times, we have to find it. So far the lads have come up big in matches and tomorrow is a massive game and we’re hoping to do it again.

“This is where we’ve arrived, this is where we’re at now, and it will need big performances tomorrow night in the Aviva and Robbie [Brady], Jef [Hendrick]f, I think all those boys who forged great reputations in the Euros know that but they should take something from it. While every minute has not been glorious for them, they are still capable of doing it.”

David Meyler meanwhile echoed the words of his manager, saying that the squad were hoping to make history.

“As a kid you dream of it. I’ve memories of ’94 World Cup and running around the house at home. Being 90 minutes away from qualifying for the World Cup is huge. Looking back, the sacrifices I had to go through to give me this opportunity is huge. We all want to qualify. We’ll do everything in our power to make sure we do.”