There was a strangely familiar look about the squad named by Mick McCarthy yesterday for next week's opening European Championship qualifier against Croatia in Dublin. Former captain Andy Townsend has departed the international scene but one or two of the other old war-horses will be answering the manager's call once again, while Dean Kiely is the only uncapped player in the 22-strong squad.
"It's important (to have him back), I don't know how much I can stress that," McCarthy remarked when asked about Manchester United's Roy Keane, whose last international appearance, against Lithuania, was just short of a year ago. "In the last couple of games he played for us before the injury he was outstanding. He was being talked about as one of the best players in Europe, maybe the world, so obviously it's marvellous to have him back."
Keith O'Neill too was welcomed back into the fold with the manager who spoke highly of him repeatedly during his absence from the scene through injury once again singing his praises. "He's playing up at Norwich now which pleases me," he said before adding, "we all know he can play wide out on the left but I've always fancied him up front and I'm glad to see him getting to play there at club level now."
In the absence of the injured Alan Kelly and Keith Branagan, Kiely, the 27-year-old Bury goalkeeper, has been called up as cover for Shay Given, although assuming that the Donegal man comes through Newcastle's game with Liverpool at the weekend it seems safe to assume that Kiely will sit out his first competitive match with the Irish squad.
McCarthy, on the other hand, did not rule out the possibility of either Ray Houghton or Tony Cascarino adding to their tally of caps on Saturday week, despite the fact that it had appeared that both of their international careers seemed set to end in the wake of last November's play-off game in Brussels.
"I was delighted that they didn't go," said McCarthy yesterday. "I think they thought I was just going to discard them, but that was never the case. Tony is fit and playing, which was my main concern, while I was influenced by the fact that Ray is back playing with Reading after being told that he could go for a transfer at the end of last season, but they'll both be good for me to have here with the squad and I value their opinions." That may be so, but the presence of Cascarino seems to suggest a certain lack of competition for places and when McCarthy was asked if the big striker was scoring regularly in France at the moment he conceded plainly he didn't know.
McCarthy does have one or two injury concerns, with Niall Quinn looking to be the most likely to miss out. The Irish manager said he had talked to the Sunderland striker on Tuesday night and that Quinn had seen a specialist about a back problem, but was still hopeful of being able to travel to Dublin. "He has done his pre-season and his fitness work," said McCarthy, "so missing a couple of games at this stage isn't going to do Niall too much harm."
Damien Duff, who came on as a substitute in Blackburn's first game of the season but didn't feature in Monday's defeat by Leeds is expected to be fit to travel on Sunday, when those players without Nationwide League games on Monday will gather in Dublin.
Similarly, Gary Breen and Mark Kennedy, who had picked up knocks in pre-season, should be fine. As for next week's opposition, McCarthy said that he had been impressed by what he had seen of them at France '98 and that their finishing position had spoken for itself. "They're a good side with a lot of very good individuals, (but) yes, we can beat them because we have a lot of good players, we're a good developing side and really we have to think in terms of causing every side problems when we are at home."
An occasional lapse under good crosses, he said, was the only real weakness he had glimpsed during Croatia's World Cup games and that, it seems, will be how he attempts to break them down when they come here.
If Quinn is available to partner Robbie Keane up front and Damien Duff is fit to start on the left, then those three are virtually certain to be handed key roles, but, with Gary Kelly out, the options are more limited on the right hand side, where Jeff Kenna could be handed an attacking role or Ray Houghton could even move to within one of his 75th international cap.
Ian Evans, meanwhile, has included six of the under-20 side that finished third in the World Championship finals in Malaysia last year in his panel for tomorrow night's game against Croatia in Buckley Park.
David Worrell, Robbie Ryan, Niall Inman and Michael Cummins are all included in the 19-man squad, along with goalkeeper Derek O'Connor, who is currently looking for a new club, and Thomas Morgan, one of three National League players called up.
The Squads
Senior: Given (Newcastle), Kiely (Bury), Irwin (Man Utd), Kenna (Blackburn), Staunton (Liverpool), Harte (Leeds), Cunningham (Wimbledon), Breen (Coventry), Babb (Liverpool), Fleming (Middlesbrough), Keane (Man Utd), McAteer (Liverpool), Carsley (Derby), Kinsella (Charlton), McLoughlin (Portsmouth), Houghton (Reading), Duff (Blackburn), Quinn (Sunderland), Keane (Wolves), O'Neill (Norwich), Cascarino (Nancy), Kennedy (Wimbledon).
Under-21: O'Reilly (West Ham), O'Connor (Huddersfield), Darcy (Tottenham), Worrell (Blackburn), Coughlan (Cork City), Baker (Middlesbrough), Boxall (Brentford), Ryan (Millwall), Inman (Peterborough), Cummins (Middlesbrough), Folan (Crystal Palace), Grant (Stockport), Morgan (St Patrick's Athletic), Mahon (Tranmere), Barry- Murphy (Cork City), Kilbane (West Brom), Sadlier (Millwall), Clare (Grimsby), Conlon (Man City).
