Kerr still in dark as Keane saga again in spotlight

BRIAN KERR yesterday admitted he did not know whether former captain Roy Keane has made the decision to return to international duty.

As a result, Kerr said Kenny Cunningham would continue as captain of the Republic of Ireland though the central defender is unlikely to play against Scotland tomorrow at Hampden Park because of injury.

Kerr said he had not decided who would assume the responsibility if Cunningham did not play. And Ireland's new manager smiled ruefully when asked whether he could confirm reports Keane was ready to return.

He nodded his head and rolled his eyes to heaven when confronted for the second consecutive day with an unconfirmed report relating to the Cork man.

"I don't know who wrote that one," he said with a chuckle, "I don't know."

When pressed to confirm that he had not received any communication from Old Trafford in the form of a telephone call, he joked: "I haven't had time to go to my room to see whether I've had any phone calls, I've been that busy all day."

Kerr had a full meeting with a squad of 22 players at their base in the Park Hotel, Kilmarnock, adjacent to the stadium where tonight's U21 match between Scotland and Ireland will be played.

Kerr introduced his staff to the players and announced the appointment of Packie Bonner as technical director. Later, Ireland trained at Sommerset Park, Ayr, and today the squad will train at Hampden Park where the

senior match will be played tomorrow night (8pm kick-off).

Kerr had Cunningham and Matt Holland beside him when he addressed the squad, and he said: "There's a captain sitting beside me who may not play. If he doesn't play we'll have to make a decision on the captain. Kenny is the captain if fit."

Asked what responsibilities he expected his team captain to assume, he answered: "I want a captain who's a leader on the pitch and helpful off it. Someone who would help to implement the team tactics, the team plan and the team attitude."

Cunningham admitted his injury stemmed from the fact he had returned to action too soon, a decision that reflected Birmingham City's need to win points in their struggle to survive in the Premiership. He will make a decision today on his fitness but his chances of playing are virtually nil.

Kerr said it was his intention to pick a team for his first international that was a good blend of youth and experience and one that suited the task they faced against Scotland. He referred to his desire that players in the team should be playing regularly for their clubs and mentioned Celtic's Colin Healy in this respect.

He said: "In the past, at underage level, Colin Healy has been a key player. Colin has played so few games at club level that it has to be disappointing for him. I know that Celtic have a good squad and a lot of fine midfielders, but on a personal level for Colin, it must be very disappointing not to start or even get on the bench.

"He's at a key time in his career. He's shown a lot of potential and I think he's played more international matches in the past year than club games.

"It's a concern for him and a little bit of a concern for me. From his point of view, he has to get into Celtic's team or into somebody's team, certainly for next season.

"Is he good enough to play in somebody's first team? The answer is yes. Obviously, Martin O'Neill doesn't think he's good enough at the moment for Celtic's first team and who am I to argue with Martin's evaluation of his own players?"

He said he had spoken to his squad about their aims, their targets and their ambitions for the upcoming championship games, and added: "I would like to start with a win. I don't think it's vital, but for the people who are paying good money to come I think we sold four or five thousand tickets so obviously I want us to win for them. The reality is that the European Championships games are the ones that are going to make the difference for us.

"Certainly, given it's my first senior international, it's a special occasion for me and I will be trying to transfer that to the players. They will know that it's special for me and it's special for all of us."

Meanwhile, West Ham United's Don Hutchison is likely to lead Scotland's attack for the first time in over a year in Wednesday's friendly international with Ireland at Hampden Park.

Manager Berti Vogts said Hutchison was in line to partner Dunfermline Athletic striker Steve Crawford as the German attempts to record his first win at Scotland's national stadium.

The attacking midfielder suffered a serious knee injury last February and Vogts is happy to have him involved again with next month's Euro 2004 qualifier against Iceland looming.