Finnan calls time on Ireland career

STEVE FINNAN’S late volley against Cyprus at Croke Park last October will be his last contribution in a Republic of Ireland jersey after he announced his retirement yesterday.

The Liverpool full-back announced his retirement from the Irish set-up yesterday to bring to an end a career that spanned eight years and yielded 50 caps, including four appearances in the World Cup finals of 2002.

Finnan, who will turn 32 in April, has always been a man of few words when is comes to the media and he continued that trend by issuing a short statement announcing his decision via the Liverpool website.

“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time in the Republic team, with the World Cup in 2002 being the highlight of my international career. But I’ll be 34 when the next tournament comes around so it’s the right time for me to step down.

“There will be a new manager coming in soon who will have his own ideas with younger players having the chance to stake their claim to be in his plans.”

The news will leave the country’s incoming manager with his first selection headache as, coupled with Stephen Carr’s retirement — which came last November in the aftermath of Steve Staunton’s sacking — his options at full-back are suddenly far more limited than they were.

A player that is sure to benefit from yesterday’s events is Birmingham City’s Stephen Kelly who acquitted himself well in a number of games during the last qualifying campaign.

Meanwhile, Rafa Benitez attempted to remain calm last night after more dropped points at home all but eliminated Liverpool from the Premier League title race.

“Nobody can say that the players do not want to try, they certainly do.

“It is difficult for me to explain how I feel, you know my English. But I am very, very disappointed. Especially because you can see how the fans react. They are magnificent to the team, to me, and we owe them some good games and some good victories.”

The 2-2 draw with Aston Villa means they have thrown away 15 points at home this season and won just four of 11 matches at Anfield.

Said Benitez: “We used to have problems playing away from home, now we are very good in that situation but we cannot win enough at home.

“I will not think about the top of the table, I will not talk of conceding anything. We must work to be fourth, and then try to get higher. We must be realistic, though, and talk about being in the top four now.”