I can play alongside Roy, says Kavanagh

GRAHAM Kavanagh yesterday called on Brian Kerr to give him an opportunity to show that he can play effectively for Ireland alongside Roy Keane in the World Cup campaign.

Kavanagh, who impressed hugely when he slotted into Keane’s role for the match against Cyprus as Ireland won 3-0, was left out on Keane’s return to the side for the match against Switzerland.

He came in as substitute after 73 minutes and made an immediate impression.

Kavanagh commented on the return journey to Dublin from Basel yesterday: “I sort of half-expected not to play when Roy came back into the squad; most people seem to believe we would not form the best partnership.

"A few people have said that me and Roy couldn’t play together but I don’t see it that way. I feel I can play alongside Roy and I would love to be given the chance to do that.”

Kavanagh is a strong, forceful type of person and his football mirrors his personality. He is a product of Home Farm and played with Middlesbrough and Stoke City before moving to Cardiff City two years ago.

Aged 30, he was winning his eighth cap when he came in as substitute. He won three caps under Mick McCarthy and was recalled to international duty by Brian Kerr after a five-year absence to play against Canada last November.

He was obviously disappointed to lose his place after the Cyprus match. “Brian (Kerr) had a good long chat with me and said ‘look this is the situation with Roy’ and it’s no consolation,” said Kavanagh.

“But at the end of the day, you’re getting replaced by Roy Keane, possibly the best midfielder in the world for the last ten years.

“On one hand there may be no consolation in that but if you look where you were a year or two ago and where you are now... people recognise you now as an international player and you can well do a job.

"I take a small bit of consolation in that but once I’m in the squad, as I said to Brian, I am competitive by nature and I want to play in every game.”

He added: “You still support the rest of the team and if we qualify for the World Cup in two years time, there will certainly be nobody prouder than me knowing that I played a part and contributed to it.

“I would like to think that I could convince Brian that I can play alongside Roy. There are a lot of games coming up and I’m sure there’s going to be suspensions over the course of the tournament.”

Kavanagh’s return to international football was upset when he was injured against Canada and forced off after only nine minutes and he also picked up an injury against Switzerland.

He said: “It was 1-1 when I came on and I didn’t want to come on and do anything silly and get a yellow card or a red card. In my first tackle I managed to get myself injured.

“I’d got a dead calf so I was sort of struggling for the rest of the game.”

Kavanagh is a warrior, however, and he battled on gamely. He got in a few telling tackles on opponents who had bossed Ireland around physically for most of the night and Kerr will have taken note of that.

“I know I’ve had a few injuries at international level now, but I want to be available for all the games,” he concluded.