Reid still hopes for another Ireland call

ANDY REID was again overlooked by Giovanni Trapattoni for the Italy and Montenegro games but the midfielder believes he’s got a lot to offer Ireland and he’s “loving” his football at the moment.

“I have no control over being selected for Ireland – the only thing I can control is to perform for Sunderland,” said Reid who has not been called upon to replace injured midfielders Darron Gibson, Steven Reid and Damien Duff.

“That is the only response open to me.

“I can’t sit in my house and worry about not getting into the Ireland squad. I don’t pick the Ireland squad.

“I’m just concentrating on giving everything for Sunderland and hopefully the Ireland manager will notice my performances.

“As far as I am concerned, my Ireland career isn’t over.

“I love playing for Ireland and if the opportunity came to play, I’d be delighted.”

Things could not be better for Reid under Steve Bruce at Sunderland as he is enjoying working under the former Manchester United captain and back to some of the best form of his career.

“I love it here, I really do, things are going really well and it’s been good news all round,” explained Reid.

“This is probably the happiest I have been since I joined Sunderland. “Sunderland is a good place to be at the moment and I am very happy, but that all stems from results.

“If you’re playing rubbish and getting hammered every week, there will be an air of doom and gloom about the place.

“That’s how football clubs work – results are the be all and end all. “We’ve had some good results apart from the Stoke and Burnley games. But for me this is definitely the best Sunderland team I have played in.”