Kerr glad to see McPhail emerge from shadows

IRELAND manager Brian Kerr last night welcomed the return of midfielder Stephen McPhail to regular first-team action with Nottingham Forest after three seasons in the background with Leeds United.

Kerr’s inclusion of McPhail in the squad of 24 players for upcoming matches against Russia in the European Championship and Turkey in a friendly perhaps gave a pointer to the future. McPhail was a regular midfield general for Kerr’s successful under-age teams and seemed set to enjoy a big career with Leeds until he fell out of favour.

It is scarcely three years since the then Leeds manager David O’Leary described McPhail as “the most exciting young midfielder in the English League” when he began to build his experience in the first team with Leeds at 20 years of age. But after contributing generously to Leeds’s successful season in 1999/2000, he found his career in free-fall after serious injury.