Givens recites text of Connolly's refusal to join Irish squad

DON GIVENS last night summarily dismissed speculation on the circumstances of his invitation to David Connolly to join the Irish squad here in Athens with the comment: "I want to concentrate on the players who are here and on Wednesday's match."

Givens was asked to respond to reports from England that Connolly claimed he could not join the squad because he was injured and he immediately said: "I'll give you exactly what happened on the phone call and after that I don't intend to answer any more questions about David Connolly."

He added: "The conversation on the phone on Saturday evening went 'Hello David, it's Don Givens. Are you fit ?'