Return of Reid marks new era

There’s bound to be a bit of a ‘friends reunited’ vibe about the place when the Ireland squad begins to assemble in Portmarnock tomorrow ahead of Friday’s game against Germany in Cologne and then the final World Cup qualifier at home to Kazakhstan the following Tuesday.

True, there might be the odd quizzical eyebrow raised at the reappearance of Darron Gibson, considering it was his own decision to make himself unavailable for selection since Euro 2012. But just as Giovanni Trapattoni was being entirely pragmatic in attempting, albeit unsuccessfully, to lure the Everton man back into the fold, so too can one expect Gibson’s colleagues to park the past and accentuate the positives of having the best players available for active service.

They need all hands on deck as they prepare for a challenge which will be, in part, about redeeming pride badly bruised by their last encounter with the Germans but also about trying to put down a marker for the fast approaching new era in Irish football.