Soccer Euro 2008 qualifying, Group D: Don Givens expressed both surprise and disappointment yesterday at the decision by Republic of Ireland defender Stephen Carr to turn his back on the international game at the age of just 31.

It is the second time the Dubliner has said he has played his last game for his country but as he spends more and more time battling injury, it is hard to imagine he will change his mind again.

"I feel honoured to have represented the Republic of Ireland on 44 occasions and have thoroughly enjoyed my international career," said the Newcastle United right back.

"But there are many good young people coming out of Ireland, the likes of Kevin Foley at Wolves, who should get the opportunity to play now."

Givens, who had passed Carr over for selection this week because of the hamstring injury that has troubled in him in recent weeks, described the news as "disappointing", observing, "Stephen's been a big player for us. He's been a good pro and it's disappointing when it happens".

Asked about the trend of players deciding to retire from the international game in order to concentrate on club football, however, he expressed a mixture of sadness and puzzlement as to how someone would pass up the opportunity to continue playing for their country.

"I don't know what to make of people who retire from international football, especially when they're at a reasonable age," he said. "It's a difficult one to understand. It's happened in England, it's happened in all sorts of places. I don't know if the pressures today are any greater.

"At the age some of them are doing it, I certainly wouldn't have done it," he continued. "Different strokes for different folks, though. I don't know whether the financial situation has had a bearing on it in the long run. Not that we were rewarded greatly for playing for the FAI when I played, but I think finance has clouded a lot of things. It's a whole different ball game, financially."

Carr's last game for the Republic was in the friendly against Denmark in Aarhus in August when his performance suggested he still had a good deal to offer at international level. Since being persuaded to return from his first bout of retirement, however, he had only featured three times for the Republic with injury, which also kept him out of the 2002 World Cup finals, a persistent problem for the defender.

At club level he has rarely reproduced anything like his best form since moving to Newcastle from Spurs and his decision has presumably been prompted by a desire to focus on meeting the high expectations that greeted his arrival at St James' Park.

Givens took some consolation yesterday from the fact the next Ireland manager will not be too badly provided for at right back but, as he waited for Shay Given to arrive from Newcastle, he acknowledged just how dependent on the Donegalman Steve Staunton's full-time successor will be.

"Our goalkeeping situation after Shay, and for the future as well, is a bit iffy, to say the least," he said. "We have people who have not been playing regularly - well, Joe (Murphy) is playing regularly now - but not playing at the best level, if you like.

"We need to wrap Shay up for another five years to keep him going."

All the indications are that Given will be fit to play on Saturday but the defensive situation remains difficult, with Paul McShane excused from training yesterday for fear the knock to the hip picked up the day before would develop into something more serious.

Similarly, Reading's Stephen Hunt was rested after suffering a slight foot injury in the game against Arsenal on Monday night.

"It's more a precaution than anything serious with the two lads," said Givens.

"Jonathan Douglas got a bit of a hamstring last night with Leeds and won't be joining us, which leaves us down to the bare level at the moment. At the moment, I won't be calling anyone else. I still feel we have the players, especially with the boys being brought in, to go with. But with all the defenders pulling out, it is a case of making sure nobody does anything in training."

The Welsh, meanwhile, have problems of their own. With Ryan Giggs having departed, John Toshack's side have become heavily reliant on the attacking talent of Craig Bellamy but both he and rising defensive star Gareth Bale miss Saturday's game through injury.

Jason Koumas has joined up with the squad at their base near Cardiff after missing Wigan's game at the weekend and Derby striker Rob Earnshaw has shaken off a bout of flu.

Ireland camp up sticks over immobile goalposts hassle

In most walks of life it's a metaphor for changing rules or political contexts but for the Ireland team in Wales this week the issue of "moving the goalposts" has been a very literal one.

Don Givens and his players arrived at Cwmbran Town's stadium on Tuesday to discover that the only goals available were the ones fixed permanently into the turf in their traditional locations at the either end of the stadium complex's training pitch.

The lack of more mobile sets of post meant they had to use poles driven into the ground when they wanted to reduce the size of the playing area for a training game, something that seriously reduced the value of the exercise to all concerned, but particularly to the two goalkeepers present, Joe Murphy and Colin Doyle.

As a result, the Irish upped sticks yesterday and trained at the University of Glamorgan sports grounds some 25 miles further along the M4 from their Newport base.