European Championship news: Steve Staunton yesterday sent Gary Doherty and Paddy McCarthy his clearest message yet that they play no serious part in his plans when he omitted both defenders from the squad for Ireland's forthcoming European Championship qualifiers against Cyprus and the Czech Republic but included 20-year-old Paul McShane.

The West Brom defender is widely regarded as a bright prospect but has played just six games for the club since joining on a free transfer from Manchester United in the summer.

He did do well while on loan to Brighton last season but still looks remarkably inexperienced to be included in a squad for games of such importance, particularly when it is considered that the only other centre half providing cover for Richard Dunne and Andy O'Brien is Sean St Ledger, a 21-year-old still getting to grips with the challenge of Championship life in his first season at Preston.

McShane's elevation comes after just a handful of games in the Ireland under-21 side but Staunton insists that his performances have been strong enough to persuade him that he should make the step up and start, the manager insists, learning for the future.

"We're building a team for 2010 and Paul is one of those who we are looking at with a view to the future," said Staunton.

"He's done very well in the under-21s and I had a good chat with Don (Givens) about him. Since the summer he's gone to West Brom and moved up a notch. I've been impressed with what I've seen of him there and the idea now is that we'll bring him in and have a look at him."

The decision will come as a blow both to Doherty, who has played 34 times for the Republic, scoring four goals along the way, and Leicester City skipper McCarthy, a graduate of the under-21s with a good deal more experience under his belt.

Doherty's claims were hardly advanced much by his own goal at the weekend but his ability to play up front had counted for a good deal with Staunton's two immediate predecessors, while the Louthman all but dismissed it yesterday by highlighting Alan Lee's physical approach in attack as just the sort of thing he could have done with in Stuttgart.

Though Doherty was brought to Germany for Ireland's first qualifier of this new campaign earlier this month, he did not even make the bench. On this occasion a handful of far more established players like Damien Duff, Steven Reid and Stephen Elliott are included in the 25-man panel despite lingering doubts about their fitness.

Andy Reid is also there although after a phone conversation with Charlton manager Iain Dowie yesterday Staunton agreed that, assuming his recovery goes to plan, the winger would stay with his club while Ireland travel to Cyprus before joining up with the squad for the Czech game.

Duff was having a scan on his thigh problem yesterday while Elliott is due to resume training over the next day or two, prompting optimism on the part of the Ireland boss that they will be ready for at least one of next month's games. The chances of Steven Reid being available, he admitted, look a little more uncertain.

"The fact that Duffer had a fitness test (before the Everton game) suggests that his injury isn't too serious while I've spoken to the physio at Sunderland and he told me that if Stephen (Elliott) copes with the impact of running over the next few days then he has a good chance of being fit for the Czech game.

"Andy is another one who will hopefully train this week," he continued, "although with muscle injuries you're never quite sure how it's going to go. Steven (Reid) is the main concern.

"He had an injection (for a back injury) on Friday and hopefully what they've done to him will benefit him and he'll be able to train later in the week, but we'll have to wait and see."

Paddy Kenny, he insisted however, was fit for Sheffield United's game on Saturday even though he didn't feature and there is no reason to anticipate any difficulty in relation to his availability to fill in for Shay Given.

"Shay's a big loss, both in terms of his personality and his ability, but it's an opportunity for the others to get experience and the only way they are going to get that is by playing."

Staunton said he wasn't aware yet how long Givens' recovery would take but he remarked that some of the other players had been "taken aback" by the goalkeeper's condition when they visited him in hospital.

Asked about his decision not call either Lee Carsley or Matt Holland back into his squad despite the former having made himself available again on an ongoing basis and the later saying that he would help out as required, Staunton said that he believed that he had "a good mix of youth and experience" in midfield.

As of yesterday, though, it was the blend of fit and injured that, for all his public confidence, that must be causing him a good deal of concern ahead of an away game he acknowledges must be won if Ireland are to have any chance of a top two finish and a home game his side certainly can't afford to lose.