SOCCER: After the mayhem of the early summer when possession of an Irish passport and a players' union card made it advisable to keep your phone on lest Brian Kerr decided to call, the Ireland manager was surrounded by an altogether more familiar cast yesterday as he prepared for tomorrow's friendly international against Bulgaria.

None of those playing on Sunday - Roy Keane, John O'Shea, Liam Miller and Kevin Kilbane - took part in the day's main training session. A couple of others continue to rest minor knocks but Kerr expressed confidence that all would be fully involved this morning when the squad have another run at their north Dublin base.

Despite having been omitted by Jose Mourinho from Chelsea's line-up for the Manchester United game, Damien Duff did train and Kerr expressed qualified satisfaction afterwards with the form of the 25-year-old winger whose club coach had, on Sunday evening, questioned his competitive edge.

"I'm glad," Kerr joked when asked how he felt about Duff not featuring at Stamford Bridge. "He's played a couple of times in pre-season friendlies for Chelsea but they decided not to use him yesterday, that's fair enough.

"I think it's natural," he added in relation to Mourinho's suggestion that the Dubliner might be subconsciously protecting his shoulder while playing, "that there'd be some sort of niggle in his head about the type of injury that he's had. He didn't show any signs of it in training, though, and I didn't notice anyone taking mercy on him this morning.

"It's a matter of time really," he continued. "A lot of people were saying when he got injured at the end of last season that he had no chance of making these games but here he is. He's making progress every day but he still needs a few games."

Robbie Keane, he said, is making good progress in trying to recover from an ankle injury while Matt Holland's injury is less serious. Both have a chance of being involved next month.

Sure to feature in some role is O'Shea whose appearance in central midfield for Manchester United at the weekend clearly caused Kerr, no slouch when it comes to redeploying players, some delight.

"He's always been a footballing defender, not a Row Z merchant so I think most people would have believed he could play in midfield," said Kerr. "He looked very much at home there against Chelsea, though, and there's not many defenders could look so comfortable in the midfield of a team like Manchester United so it's great for him."

As Kerr joked about the prospect of the 23-year-old playing up front next or perhaps in goal, O'Shea sat beside him smiling like a man who would gladly slot into either role if Alex Ferguson decided so.

"Once I'm in the starting 11 that's the main thing," O'Shea promptly confirmed. "Being able to show the manager that you can play in different roles is always good given the level of competition for places there is at United. I enjoyed playing there to be honest, you get to be a bit more creative and even get the odd chance to have a go at goal, I had a couple of half chances on Sunday, so it was all a good experience. To be picked to play twice in succession is particularly satisfying because it means the manager must feel I was doing something right."

Roy Keane, he said, had had a quiet word before he made the switch for the first time. "He said to be positive, to take a bit more responsibility. Not to just knock it sideways but to look to get forward and I tried to take that on board from the very start."

With the Corkman filling in at centre half it might have crossed the 23-year-old's mind to offer advice on defending in return. "Nah," he grinned, "I think Roy was alright on that score."

Meanwhile Celtic's Aidan McGeady will make his under-21 international debut against Bulgaria this evening in United Park. The 18-year-old, whose inclusion is the only significant change by Don Givens to a side that has impressed this year.