Barrett and Butler get senior call

ARSENAL striker Graham Barrett and Sunderland midfielder Thomas Butler will join the Republic of Ireland senior squad after playing for the Under-21’s tonight.

Don Givens’ U-21’s face Switzerland at Buckley Park, Kilkenny, in their second European Championship qualifier, aiming to bounce back from a 2-0 defeat in their opening game in Russia last month.

McCarthy has lost three of his players through injury - Andy O’Brien of Newcastle, Jeff Kenna of Birmingham, and Southampton’s Rory Delap - and has called on Barrett and Butler to bolster his ranks after they have won their 18th and 10th Under-21 caps respectively.

Barrett and Butler both already have one senior cap, and Givens said their call from McCarthy was just reward for their efforts.

‘‘This is a good boost for both of them,’’ said Givens. ‘‘I try to impress on my players that if they do well in the Under-21s then they will get a chance with the seniors, and this goes to prove the point.’’

Givens has been forced into making two changes to the team who started the game in Russia.

He has lost Ben Burgess and Dwayne Mattis through injury, so Andy Reid and Jonathon Daly earn their chance.

‘‘I am very optimistic that if we play to the level we are capable of then we can record our first win and get our qualifying campaign off and running,’’ said Givens.

‘‘We did not play to that level in Russia and we lost as a result, but I am optimistic we can get our performance back up there and get a result this time.’’

Meanwhile, the Southampton defender Chris Baird was yesterday applauded by Sammy McIlroy ahead of Northern Ireland Under-21s European Championship qualifier against Ukraine.

Baird performed well on Friday when Northern Ireland were unfortunate to go down 1-0 to Spain after they conceded a goal in stoppage time.

His reward was a call-up to the senior squad for their game against Ukraine tomorrow night after the withdrawal of Gerry Taggart, although he will still feature for the Under-21s tonight.

McIlroy took in the Under-21 match last week and was impressed with what he saw. ‘‘Chris played very well,’’ he said.

‘‘He was very steady and it will be good experience for him being with the seniors.’’