Patience has been a necessity at club level for late bloomer Alan Judge, so waiting for his international debut to eventually arrive tomorrow against Switzerland is not an issue for the 27-year-old.

Jon Walters is the latest injury worry for Ireland after Martin O’Neill, in attendance at the Britannia Stadium, saw him limp off the pitch as Stoke City dumped Chelsea out of the League Cup on Tuesday night.

Alan Judge hopes his match-winning brace for Brentford in the 2-1 Championship win over Rotherham on Saturday will have given Martin O’Neill food for thought ahead of next month’s Euro 2016 play-off against Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Alan Hansen suggested this week that tonight’s Merseyside derby at Anfield is the biggest in the league in almost 30 years.

... but McCarthy remains in running for Ireland return

Funny that the man who told me that irreverence was a good foundation for journalism is now accorded the sort of reverence more in keeping with pop stars and the Pope than pensmiths.

Lee Carsley believes Giovanni Trapattoni has to consider Stephen Ireland in his European Championships plans.

DARRON GIBSON has become the latest player to withdraw from an ever-diminishing Ireland squad for Saturday’s Euro 2012 qualifier in Skopje, having notified the management team that he will be unavailable with a groin problem.

ROY KEANE has revealed that he recently called in a sports psychologist in a bid to halt Ipswich’s slide down the Championship. The Tractor Boys boss takes his 17th-placed team to Preston North End tomorrow looking to end a run of five successive league defeats.

BY HIS own admission, Andy Keogh was “rotting away” on the bench at Wolves but the Dubliner is hoping his temporary switch to Cardiff City can reboot a career that had stalled at club and international levels.

Keith Fahey has promised there is more to come from him after announcing himself on the international stage as a match-winner.

WITH just six days to go to Johannesburg and almost eight months since Paris, it is time to look on the bright side, time to move beyond the recognised five stages of grief – denial, anger, bargaining, depression and that “low-down, no-good, cheating b*****d Henry” – time to acknowledge that defeat in the play-off was the best thing that could have happened to us, that nothing good could have come of our boys going big game hunting in South Africa and that, all things considered, the nation has been spared a World Cup of pain.

Celtic midfielder Aiden McGeady will only prove his doubters wrong if he makes the move to the Premier League, according to Lou Macari.

FT: Birmingham 2 Burnley 1

FORMER Republic of Ireland midfielder Lee Carsley will leave Birmingham at the end of the season.

Lee Carsley will leave Birmingham at the end of the season.

LEE CARSLEY has conceded that his international career is effectively over.

Birmingham boss Alex McLeish has no new injury worries ahead of tomorrow’s home Barclays Premier League clash with Arsenal.

Birmingham midfielder Lee Carsley is poised to return to training next week after being side-lined for two months with an ankle injury.

Birmingham manager Alex McLeish is set to reshape his squad in the summer with “significant” additions and “eight or nine players likely to leave” - according to the club’s chief executive Michael Dunford.

In-form Birmingham have included new signing Michel in their squad for tomorrow’s Barclays Premier League clash at bottom club Portsmouth.

Birmingham and Republic of Ireland midfielder Lee Carsley is set to be sidelined until the start of March with the ankle injury suffered during the FA Cup tie with Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.

Alex McLeish will pick from the same Birmingham squad that held Manchester United when Nottingham Forest visit St Andrew’s for tomorrow’s FA Cup third-round replay.

Birmingham defender Stephen Carr will return after suspension for the home Premier League clash with Manchester United tomorrow evening.

Birmingham boss Alex McLeish will be forced to change his line-up – the first time for eight matches – for the FA Cup clash with Nottingham Forest at the City Ground tomorrow.

Wolves boss Mick McCarthy has decided against making a fresh move for Newcastle striker Andy Carroll during next month's transfer window.

Birmingham manager Alex McLeish has no fresh injury worries ahead of Tuesday’s home Premier League clash with Blackburn.

OF all Ireland’s play-off defeats, this one was the hardest to take.

IT had been a sharp learning curve for Mick McCarthy in his first campaign as Irish manager.

RAFAEL BENITEZ has for the first time played down Liverpool’s title dreams and asked for “realism” as the club fight to end a run of disastrous results.

Maybe Rafael Benitez will look back on Liverpool’s fortunate 2-2 draw with Birmingham last night at Anfield as the moment his luck changed.

BIRMINGHAM captain Lee Carsley last night slammed Liverpool’s David Ngog for what he described as “an embarrassing case of cheating” after the young striker helped Liverpool earn a point with a controversial penalty.

Steven Gerrard’s hotly-disputed second-half penalty rescued a point for Liverpool but did little to lift the pressure on boss Rafael Benitez.

Birmingham midfielder Barry Ferguson is suspended for Monday’s Barclays Premier League clash with Liverpool at Anfield.

FOR one horrible moment, history appeared intent on repeating itself. An Arsenal attacker lay stricken on the turf, felled by a clumsy tackle from a defender clad in blue and white; on the sidelines, Arsene Wenger watched on, his brow furrowed with anxiety.

Birmingham will be boosted by the return of four players after injury for the home Barclays Premier League clash with Bolton tomorrow.

Birmingham’s crippling injury list means manager Alex McLeish will call upon every fit and able first-team player at his disposal for tonight’s Carling Cup third-round clash against Sunderland.

Birmingham manager Alex McLeish does not have the option of resting players ahead of tomorrow’s Carling Cup third-round trip to Sunderland with his squad ravaged by injury.

Alex McLeish insists Birmingham’s treatment room is “bursting at the seams” ahead of Saturday’s trip to Hull.

Tottenham 2 Birmingham 1