While Shane Duffy and Ciaran Clark have emerged as Martin O’Neill’s first-choice centre-half pairing, the absence through injury of the Newcastle United man means one of those places at the heart of the defence is up for grabs when Ireland take on Austria on Sunday.

Darren Randolph or Keiren Westwood?

At the Irish team hotel in Castleknock yesterday, Roy Keane was asked how he was feeling on the morning after the night before.

Reading midfielder Jem Karacan has penned a new deal with the club which runs until 2015.

Liverpool manager Kenny Dalglish refused to criticise England’s caretaker manager Stuart Pearce after Steven Gerrard was injured against Holland last night.