ON SOCCER:As long as the results remain good, Trapattoni doesn't have to justify himself about leaving Andy Reid out of the equation

IF HE was sad to be part of an Ireland squad but lucky to make it onto the bench come game time, it's hard to imagine that Andy Reid will be hugely cheered up this morning as he reads from afar Liam Brady's clarification of Giovanni Trapattoni's comments on Sunday evening regarding his future.

After having been around the block as many times as he has, nobody really expected the Italian to suddenly fold under a bit of questioning regarding his decision to omit the Dubliner from his squad.

In fact, he mounted a characteristically self-assured defence of the decision, insisting once again that the 26-year-old simply doesn't fit into a system that has worked well enough, citing as supporting evidence that a team which had one point to show for its efforts at this stage of its last campaign has seven from nine this time around.

He went on to say that Reid, a proud player, tended to be "sad" when he didn't get to play, and most of those present formed the opinion the manager was suggesting that the player's demeanour had become something of an issue. Brady sought to address this, insisting that: "Giovanni wasn't trying to say that the boy has a poor attitude in any way at all. Andy obviously wants to play. He was down about not playing, but he trained very well at all times. He never caused us any problems at any time whatsoever.

"I don't want it to come across in any way and nor does the manager (as suggesting) that the boy had a poor attitude," he continued, "it's not the case. It's just that Giovanni doesn't see him fitting into the system that he's using at the moment, a system that's brought us seven points from nine, played six games and been unbeaten."

The figures are probably quoted so often because they are so hard to argue with, and Trapattoni is clearly entitled to continue with what he sees as a successful formula.

Certainly, he has invested a great deal of time and effort in familiarising his players with the system he wants them to employ, and he insisted that he had made clear to Reid, as he did to the media at Malahide on Sunday, that if Plan A fails then Plan B may well include the Sunderland midfielder, a degree of flexibility at least one of his predecessors was widely accused of lacking a few years back.

Still, it would be understandable if Reid interprets the decision to exclude him entirely from the squad as something of a public humiliation. That's not to say he would be justified in walking away from the international set-up, there's been more than enough of that sort of stuff over the last year or two. But given the nature of these things, it's hard to avoid the conclusion that it was a risk Trapattoni was willing to take when, in answer to a question about Joey O'Brien's rather unfortunate mention of possible retirement, he remarked: "It's like when (Stephen) Ireland said he doesn't want to come back, I said okay, life goes on. If your wife goes you have another lady, that's life."

The reference to Ireland is interesting in the circumstances. Trapattoni also observed on Sunday that: "Reid plays the position at Sunderland that Ireland plays at Manchester City but, at the moment, our system does not include this position."

Roy Keane, meanwhile, said last week that: "Andy Reid in good form would certainly be in the Irish squad, without a shadow of doubt," but the Sunderland boss didn't seem to be suggesting he feels Reid, in his current form, is being especially hard done by. He certainly couldn't make too much of an issue of it given the frequency with which he has opted for solidity over creativity in central midfield and ignored the midfielder himself this season.

Indeed, Reid's failure to find his best form in the English northeast has made sticking to his tactical guns relatively easy for Trapattoni. Ireland, on the other hand, might present more of a challenge.

Brady said he agrees with Mark Hughes's assessment at the weekend that the Irishman has been City's best player this year. "Absolutely, he is playing very, very well, and we know what he can do," he said, before adding, not unreasonably, that the question of whether he returns to the international set up is a matter for him to resolve. "We have been to see the boy, we have asked him to come back. Do you want us to go over every week to ask him?"

But the logic of everything that Trapattoni has been saying so far suggests Ireland might well be sitting on the sidelines too if he were suddenly to return.

After five goals in 12 starts this season for a team that has been significantly reshaped since the campaign began as to accommodate a more attacking brand of football that, among other things, emphasises his considerable talents, the Corkman's claims for a starting place in Trapattoni's side would be more difficult for the veteran coach to dismiss.

Given the player's track record, there's no telling how well he would react to the manager's approach, but there's a sneaking suspicion that if he were to be repeatedly left out then he just might be a little less circumspect about the issue than Reid has managed to be. In the circumstances, then, Ireland's decision to remain in self-imposed exile might suit Trapattoni well enough.

But as long as the team keeps winning, the pundits can say what they want. The Italian will, with justification, continue to suit himself.