Post by Taxigirl on May 27, 2004 18:07:39 GMT
Brian Kerr welcomed Roy Keane back into the international fold – then invited any other former Republic of Ireland international to come out of retirement if they wanted to.
Manchester United skipper Keane is expected to recover from injury and end his two-year international exile at Lansdowne Road tonight when he faces Romania for his 59th cap.
Ireland manager Kerr is naturally delighted to have one of the best players in the world available for selection again and said he would be happy for anyone else who has retired in the past two years to also make a return if they so fancied.
Since the 2002 World Cup the list of players who have called time on their international career has included Niall Quinn, Steve Staunton, Dean Kiely and Gary Kelly, and in reality Kerr would most like to see Charlton goalkeeper Kiely return as cover for Shay Given, although defender Kelly would also be a welcome addition to the squad.
“We’ve a small enough group to pick from considering the size of the population so I’m delighted when anyone says they are available,” said Kerr.
“The door is open for anybody who wants to change their mind.
“With the retirement of Steve Staunton, Niall Quinn and Alan Kelly I felt at the time that as we got involved in the World Cup games it was going to be too many too quickly. Roy Keane being available again, it gives us an extra player.
“Players like Shay Given, Kenny Cunningham, Matt Holland and Mark Kinsella give us experience. You see it at club level with Kenny at Birmingham. Roy has continued to do that at Manchester United and of course he can help players.
“I’m satisfied that Roy has made himself available. He’s been a great player for Ireland, one of our greatest ever and I’m delighted that it has come to this stage.”
The Romania match is the first of four friendlies against teams in the top 50 in the world in the space of 10 days and Kerr is hoping some of the younger players in the squad will benefit from them.
He said: “This series of matches is going to be a tough spell but great matches for the players to be involved in. I’m sure some of the young players will emerge as they have done in the past.
“People have doubted the benefits of friendlies but the reality is you cannot throw players into competitive matches without some experience in international football.
“For many of them this will be their first taste of real international football and it’s a chance for them to get caps and bring them along.”