McCarthy has sympathy for Kerr

FORMER Republic of Ireland manager Mick McCarthy has hit out at the speculation about Brian Kerr’s contract going into the Wednesday night’s game against Switzerland.

McCarthy claimed “nothing has changed” since he found himself in an almost identical position when the Swiss knocked Ireland out of the European Championships at Lansdowne Road three years ago, a defeat which ended McCarthy’s reign.

“I was just disappointed that before the game, all the chat was about Brian and his job and not about the performance and beating them, the same as in Cyprus.