U-21 QUALIFYING: IPSWICH DEFENDER Owen Garvan hopes the Republic of Ireland under-21s will learn from their mistakes as they prepare for their next qualifying campaign.
The Irish face Bulgaria tomorrow afternoon in Sofia (kick-off 4.30) and Portugal next Tuesday in Madeira in their latest Uefa Under-21 Championship matches but with qualification already out of reach, manager Don Givens is looking to the future.
"The manager is keen to get the younger group of players through and I think that's good because it's looking to the next campaign," Garvan said.
"Some of the lads are new to under-21 level but there's a few of us who have been here before.We played quite well during the whole campaign but we've been punished for making small mistakes.
"We have played good teams like England and Portugal but in the next campaign we have to learn not to make those mistakes."
Garvan is hoping to use both games to push for inclusion in the senior squad. The 20-year-old was a member of Giovanni Trapattoni's party for the recent friendlies against Colombia and Serbia.
