Mark Kinsella feels history will repeat itself over the next 12 months when it comes to revamping Ireland’s international squad.

In preparing to face the threat of Danish dangerman Christian Eriksen in the World Cup play-off, Martin O’Neill believes his players are entitled to take encouragement from how they coped in the recent past with other standout stars like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Gareth Bale and the Bosnian duo of Edin Dzeko and Miralem Pjanic.

Martin O’Neill has said he would be disappointed if James McClean was not feeling frustrated about his restricted game time at West Brom.

John Fallon breaks down the strengths and weaknesses of Ireland’s potential opponents...

What is the point of the play-offs?

The latest Fifa rankings have seen Ireland move up eight places to 26 but, despite that significant improvement, of the eight countries to qualify for the World Cup play-offs, only Greece, at 47, are ranked below Martin O’Neill’s team.

Ipswich Town striker Daryl Murphy has enjoyed the season of his life. Stuart Watson spoke to the Championship’s 27-goal top-scorer.

Ipswich held Norwich to a 1-1 draw in the first leg of the Sky Bet Championship play-off semi-final in a feisty East Anglian derby at Portman Road.