Reid facing fight for Ireland spot

ANDY REID looks like he has a fight on his hands to break into Giovanni Trapattoni’s World Cup plans after the manager expressed himself satisfied by what he saw from his Irish selection in the 1-1 draw with Norway.

Speaking in Dublin yesterday after the squad had returned from Oslo, the manager praised his central midfield of Steven Reid and Glenn Whelan, and explained: “It’s about balance. I saw many, many games before I came here. I saw Andy in the last game, he is a good player. If I decide to play Andy in a game, maybe it would be with one striker. That’s my opinion. He doesn’t play on the left side. He plays good football, but not by staying on the line. In the friendly game in May I tried to play him in the position I wanted but it was impossible because he was injured. Now at the start of the season I cannot try it again but I know he is a good player, he is a player with very specific characteristics. It is important that he plays well, it would be important for us because it is a long season and qualification is over two years. At the moment I look forward to building a big, strong team with spirit, but every game is different. The Nordic game is about strength, but against one of the Latin sides it’s possible to play a Latin game, like against the Portuguese. That is my experience.”

Estimating that his starting selection in Norway will comprise at least 90% of the team to play Georgia, the manager had special words of praise for John O’ Shea (“he reads the game very well”) and Kevin Kilbane (“one of the best players on the pitch on Wednesday”) but made a point of stressing the importance of the collective.