Trap to give green light to Pilkington

Giovanni Trapattoni has hinted that Anthony Pilkington could be called up to the Ireland squad for February’s friendly against Poland in Dublin.

Despite having been capped in the past at U21 level for Ireland, there has been concern that the Blackburn-born winger could yet declare for England’s senior team, but, yesterday, Trapattoni insisted that the player definitely has designs on the green shirt.

“I can say with certainty that he is very interested to play for us,” said the Ireland manager. “He is honoured with the interest and the paperwork is being processed at the moment. Who knows, we might be able to see him in early February.”

Extolling the 24 year old’s attributes, Trapattoni said: “He is a very particular type of player. He is technically excellent and he is very physical. He is at ease playing both off his left and right foot. He is young and very aggressive with the ball. I don’t know if during my time here we have had that type of player, who is at ease both on the left and right wing, and who can come in and create difficulties for defences.

“I think he is also a great threat in front of goal. There are a lot of different ways he can attack in the air. He has a great strike of the ball and he is not afraid to take a shot. He is excellent at set-pieces, his physical and technical attributes are there for everyone to see. He is a bit different from Duff, Lawrence, Hunt and even McClean. He is able to offer a lot in different areas of the pitch.”

On a more downbeat note, Trapattoni conceded that it is not at all clear when his first-choice centre-halves – Richard Dunne and Sean St Ledger – will finally be injury-free.

“I am very closely in contact with Richard,” he said. “Obviously it has been difficult at the club with changes before the injury and during the injury. So I think he is looking to sort that out and then he will try to think about coming back with a full recovery. I wish him well because it is a difficult period for him.

“I was in touch with Sean just the other day. I know he is heading over to Germany to see a specialist and I know he is in best possible hands. The thing that remains in doubt is the time-scale of his return. Everyone is in doubt about that. I am not sure if he will be ready in time for the friendly against Poland in February. Hopefully with a good recovery, he will be back in time for March. Obviously I hope Richard and Sean can come back, but having seen the progress (Ciaran) Clark has made, getting a lot of game time, I am not concerned about it. He is stepping up.”

Speaking to the Irish media a day after he’d been inducted into Italian football’s Hall of Fame, Trapattoni offered the following reflection on the year now drawing to a close.

“2012 was definitely divided into two distinct parts for me. Obviously there was the big success of qualifying and getting to the Euros and the euphoria of doing so. But unfortunately it was a bad Euros, it was terrible. It didn’t go the way we’d hoped. But that didn’t perturb me. I know what the players are capable of. I was always convinced and am convinced that they can react and get over the psychological impact of the Euros.

“Yes, there was the bad result with Germany, but as the manager I have to remember there were six key players missing. Even the match against the Faroes immediately after showed that the identity, spirit and enthusiasm is still there. We need to keep growing that trend.”

And his hopes for 2013? “I think the most important thing for 2013 for me is that I know the squad has the awareness that they can compete with everyone. They showed that in the past in the World Cup — but for France — and the Euro qualifiers. The important thing for me is that the squad plays with the same determination and spirit that has always characterised Irish teams in the past; that they show they are not afraid of any opposition.”