Henry denies any rift with Domenech

THIERRY HENRY last night scotched speculation about a rift with manager Raymond Domenech, after being substituted after 67 minutes of the 3-0 win against the Faroe Islands in Lens on Saturday.

The Arsenal ace declined to make eye contact with France’s national team manager, whom he brushed past in petulant fashion after giving way to Sylvain Wiltord for the closing 23 minutes of France’s third win in Group 4.

“I want to clarify things immediately,” Henry said. “I don’t think that I if I’d scored against the Faroes I would have become the golden boy.

“But I didn’t want to come off. I love playing. There’s always frustration when I’m replaced, because I feel like I’m missing something. That’s where the frustration comes from. I don’t want this to be misinterpreted,” Henry insisted.

“The fans in Lens played a full part,” added Henry. “Every time we created a scoring chance, they chanted the name of the player concerned. They were behind us.”

Djibril Cisse limped out of Lens with an ankle injury but remains hopeful of lining out in Dublin.

“This match was certainly a good preparation ahead of Ireland. I can’t wait to be there. The atmosphere will be like in English stadiums. It will be noisy and great, but I am expecting a very tough fight.”