SOCCER: EMMET MALONEtalks to the Republic of Ireland goalkeeper who earns his 110th cap tonight despite his ongoing problems with Manchester City
AS GIOVANNI Trapattoni continued yesterday to mull over who the final man in tonight's team against Wales might be, Shay Given was at least reassured that he will get to complete a first 11 of his own with the Manchester City goalkeeper set to make just his 11th appearance of a terribly frustrating season.
The 34-year-old has had to resign himself to life on the sidelines at Eastlands since the summer when Joe Hart was picked ahead of him by Roberto Mancini and while he believes that he will be allowed to leave the club at the end of this campaign in the event that his situation doesn't improve, the Donegalman admits to being relieved that Trapattoni has decided to keep faith with him tonight.
"It's nice to play because if I wasn't picked then I don't really have a case to say I should be playing because I'm not playing for my club," he said at yesterday's pre-match press conference in Malahide. "So it's thanks to Mr Trapattoni; he's mentioned to me that I'm starting the match tomorrow and I'm just delighted. All I've said is that I want to play football. I'm not a politician, I'm not a spokesman, I just want to be playing football and I'm delighted to be playing again tomorrow."
Instead, admits the man who will earn his 110th cap tonight, he has had to settle for extra training, lots of it, with the Irishman enduring all of those sessions normally missed by the squad members who have seen first team action.
"I've trained more than I've ever trained to be honest because when you're not playing, the next day after a match is usually a warm down but I'm actually training. I've been working and training harder than normal and things that I can improve on, I can work on in training because I'm putting more effort in - because I don't have to save myself for games I suppose in a sense, so I like to think I'll be a little bit stronger and better in situations."
Given is, on the face of it at least, a good deal more philosophical about his plight now than he was when it first became clear Hart had displaced him at City back in August. While admitting yesterday to having been frustrated at not getting out on loan before the transfer window closed last month, he accepts that Mancini must do what he sees as best for the team and appears to take some consolation from the fact that the club have indicated they will be more accommodating during the summer if he is still on the margins of the team at that stage.
"The club wanted me to stay," he says, "and in a sense when you're a player you think only of yourself but the club have a different perspective on what they're thinking as well.
"We are in three different competitions this year as well and we have a realistic chance of winning three competitions. So you've got to look at the club's position as well. It is frustrating for me at the minute but who knows in football, things can change very quickly and we have lots of games coming up, so you never know what can happen.
"I think, though, that the club have said they would look favourably at me in the summer; that things would be different, yeah."
In the meantime, he insists, he will work alongside Hart as he accepts the Englishman is not to blame for the way things have turned out over the course of this season. First up, though, he will aim to remind everyone of his worth this evening in a game that Given maintains is at least a little more than a run-of-the-mill friendly.
"It is a friendly but it's got a bit of a twist to it; this is the Nations Cup and it's against our neighbours across the water in Wales and obviously we play Scotland and Northern Ireland, it adds an extra edge to the whole thing. It's not just a friendly, I think. Us being at home as well in Dublin for this tournament, we would like to win it because it's our home patch and I'm looking forward to it."
