Four players have withdrawn from the Republic of Ireland squad for Thursday's Euro 2020 qualifier against Switzerland due to fitness issues.

Wayne Routledge scored a last-minute winner as Swansea edged their top-of-the-table clash with Leeds at Elland Road.

Mick McCarthy is considering delaying a decision on the make-up of his final squad for the upcoming Euro 2020 qualifier against Switzerland and the friendly against Bulgaria, amid concerns about the impact of injuries and the amount of game-time some of those in contention are getting with their clubs.

Newly-promoted Sheffield United are closing on a €6.6m move for Ireland international striker Callum Robinson.

The draw for this season’s FA Cup took place last Monday — but did anybody really care, asks Paul Rouse.

Jonathan Kodjia rescued a last-gasp point for Aston Villa as they grabbed a 2-2 draw against Brentford.

Cardiff left it late but kept themselves on course for a Sky Bet Championship automatic promotion place with a 2-0 win at Norwich.

Aleksandar Mitrovic has continued his remarkable goal-scoring form for Fulham.

Mauricio Pochettino insists Harry Kane is happy at Tottenham and can fulfil his desire to win silverware in north London.

Southampton piled more misery on West Brom to progress into the FA Cup quarter-finals with a confidence-boosting 2-1 victory at the Hawthorns.

Carlos Carvalhal's return to Hillsborough ended in stalemate as Sheffield Wednesday and Swansea played out a goalless draw in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

“People were raving afterwards about Tommy Craig. He has great skill and he is strong… When you are watching a game it looks like he’s making a great contribution. But that is on the premise that what he is doing on the ball is what it’s about at that level. And it is not. Maybe it should be. It would be nice if it were.

Leicester became the first team in English football to score a goal via a VAR decision.

Between a lack of game time at West Brom and the vilification he routinely receives from the stands and on social media, the Premier League must sometimes feel like a cold house to James McClean.

First impressions count and it didn’t take Joe Mason long to make his mark on his Burton Albion debut.

John Caulfield is expected to shuffle his pack for tonight’s EA Sports Cup semi-final at Shamrock Rovers, with Greg Bolger, Jimmy Keohane, and Ryan Delaney all in line to start at Tallaght Stadium tonight, writes John Fallon.

New surroundings, same narrative. Sean Maguire has got used to that winning feeling this year; his goals ensuring Cork City have turned this season’s Airtricity League Premier Division title race into a procession.

John Caulfield is expected to shuffle his pack for tonight’s EA Sports Cup semi-final at Shamrock Rovers, with Greg Bolger, Jimmy Keohane, and Ryan Delaney all in line to start at Tallaght Stadium (7pm).

Brighton reclaimed their place at the top of the Sky Bet Championship with a 3-1 win over Birmingham.

League of Ireland fans might justifiably be relishing the sight of Daryl Horgan hitting the ground running at Preston but Martin O’Neill is probably even more gratified by the resurgent impact one of the older wingers in town is having at Deepdale.

I don’t recall, as an 11-year-old, being aware I was watching an exhibition of sport as a thinly disguised substitute for war, writes Liam Mackey.

Conor Hourihane says he aims to “hit the ground running” after completing a £3m move to Aston Villa yesterday.

Matt Ritchie fired a second-half double as Newcastle climbed back to the top of the Sky Bet Championship with a 4-0 home win against Rotherham.

When I read a review of Anthony Clavane’s new book last weekend, the sketchy outline convinced me immediately it had to be read.

Darren Randolph has revealed that he would be reluctant to seek a transfer away from West Ham United should his lack of first-team action at the Premier League club threaten his spot as Ireland’s first-choice goalkeeper.

Newcastle made it six straight wins in the Sky Bet Championship with a narrow 2-1 victory at Preston which maintained their cushion at the top of the table.

Steve Bruce is the new Aston Villa manager, the club have confirmed.

Keiren Westwood’s body language said it all. With 70 minutes played at Turner’s Cross on Tuesday, and David Forde given the nod to replace Shay Given in goal, it looked like the Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper’s chances of booking passage to France had come and gone without him even donning the gloves.

Martin O’Neill wouldn’t say whether David Meyler will start against Belarus tonight, but the Hull City midfielder will have longer to impress than the last time he effectively auditioned for a current member of the Ireland management team at Turner’s Cross.

Hull City 1 Sheffield Wednesday 0: Hull midfielder Mohamed Diame admitted his play-off final winner in Saturday’s Wembley showpiece was the most important goal of his career so far.

Hull secured a return to the Premier League with a deserved 1-0 defeat of Sheffield Wednesday in the Championship play-off final at Wembley.

Martin O’Neill has poured scorn on the suggestion he will have to guard against the boredom and grumbles that were supposedly rife among Giovanni Trapattoni’s Republic of Ireland squad in the lead-up and during Euro 2012.

Ireland is an ‘outlier’ in terms of its weak employment protection and modest social security spending after significant social policy change during the financial crash, research suggests.

Aiden McGeady has revealed Martin O’Neill left him in no doubt if he hoped to resurrect his game — and make Ireland’s European Championships squad — he needed to bring an end to his Goodison Park limbo.

To bee or not to bee.. the question is whether mankind can continue to exist without them.

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