Reid wants fair crack of the whip for ‘natives’

ANDY REID believes that some Irish players are not getting a fair chance to break into the international squad.

Reid, himself controversially deemed surplus to requirements by Giovanni Trapattoni, says that he has no argument with the best players being selected for international duty regardless of their place of birth, but he has reservations about the declared management policy of looking to entice players born outside the country, if it’s at the expense of capable and committed native talent.

“Where I think it’s unreasonable is where some of the Irish players get overlooked,” says the 28-year-old Dubliner. “Really good examples that I can use — because I’m playing with them now — are Stephen Quinn and Mark Yeates at Sheffield United.

“Stephen Quinn’s a brilliant player and is more than capable of going into that Ireland team and doing well. Mark Yeates has a tremendous amount of ability — a lot more ability than some of the players who are in the squad.

“And these are two players who were born and raised in Dublin. You couldn’t get two more Irish players. And you can’t tell me that for them to play for Ireland — as opposed to someone who was not born — doesn’t mean more.

“If that upsets people, that upsets people. But for me that’s not even a discussion — that’s a fact. Because I know how much it means to pull on the green shirt. And it must be very hurtful for lads like that to be overlooked.”

Sunderland’s Reid is about to finish an impressive loan spell with Sheffield United, who say they want to keep him, but the Dubliner is anxious to get back playing in the Premiership.

- For an exclusive, in-depth interview with Andy Reid, on everything from Roy Keane and Giovanni Trapattoni to Bob Dylan and James Joyce, see tomorrow’s special New Year’s Day edition of the Irish Examiner.