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Republic of Ireland squad is a tight unit and will bounce back says Wes Hoolahan

WES Hoolahan was at the centre of Ireland’s attacks on Monday evening.

The 34-year-old Dubliner cracked home the opening goal against Sweden with a sweet half-volley and, though the Swedes came back to claim a draw, Hoolahan says the Republic will take a lot of positives from the display into their remaining Group E games against Belgium and Italy.

“We played really well and created a lot of chances and hopefully we can keep that going over the next two games,” said the Norwich City midfielder.

“We have a great team spirit in the team and the camp and we showed that. We have a unit here.”

The Republic of Ireland have never beaten Belgium but ‘The Red Devils’ once again failed to deliver on the abundance of talent in the squad when they lost 2-0 to Italy in their group opener. That loss means they’ll need to take something out of Saturday’s meeting with the Republic in Bordeaux.

The Ireland squad did a “light training session” behind closed doors at their tournament base in Versailles yesterday. There hasn’t been any confirmation on whether striker Jon Walters will play any further part in the tournament.

Dancing or warming up?

The Stoke City frontman (32) didn’t look fully fit against Sweden and now faces an anxious wait to learn the extent of the damage to his Achilles – if he is ruled out Ireland will be down to just three strikers in Shane Long, Robbie Keane and Daryl Murphy.

Walters said: “It was sore after the first minute. I was trying to run and jump and get through it to see if it settled down, but it didn't really. It was still sore.

“I tried to do my part in the second half and made a few runs in behind. If I was 100 per cent, I would have easily got on the end of a couple.

“It's nowhere near as sore as it was when I did it just over a week ago. It was always going to be sore. The last couple of days I haven't felt it, but if I didn't feel it in the game, I would have afterwards anyway.

“I think the right thing was to come off and let's see how it settles down the next couple of days.”

Manager Martin O'Neill admitted after the draw with Sweden that Walters' fitness was a genuine worry.

He said: “We'll have to see, we'll check him in the morning again. He's being checked now as I speak, but it would be a concern for us."

The injury compounded O'Neill's disappointment on a night when victory slipped from Ireland's grasp as Ciaran Clark's own goal 19 minutes from time cancelled out Wes Hoolahan's 48th-minute opener.

However, the 64-year-old was delighted with large parts of the performance and told Clark he should not dwell on his misfortune.

O'Neill said: “I think he should look at his own overall performance and be particularly pleased with it.

“I’m immensely proud of the team. I thought we played really, really well in the game. I'm naturally disappointed - and so are the players in there - that instead of having three points, we have got one on the board, so we'll have to try to do something about it in the next two games.”