Trapattoni: Gibson is Fergie’s, not mine

GIOVANNI TRAPATTONI has insisted that he never said Darron Gibson should leave Manchester United but, in almost the same breath, has repeated his belief that Ireland’s young, fringe players can only benefit from playing regular football.

Trapattoni was speaking in Dublin yesterday after reports emerged the previous day of Gibson’s dismissive response to comments about the player which the manager had made on Saturday – remarks which, owing to Trapattoni’s imprecise English, were open to varying interpretations.

Gibson had told his hometown paper, the Derry Journal: “If he’s trying to say I should move somewhere like Stoke City and change my game to winning tackles and not winning games, then he’s having a laugh.”