Given hints he might have to quit Ireland to prolong Villa stay
The Irish number one, who has amassed a record-breaking 113 caps, is confident he can operate in the Premier League until 2016, and perhaps even beyond.
However, in order to do so, Given hinted he may have to retire from international football in 12 months’ time and devote himself entirely to his club.
“I said before that I’d wait until after the European Championships to make a decision,” said Given on his unveiling as an Aston Villa player yesterday, with manager Alex McLeish by his side.
“I’ll maybe have a chat with Alex and see what he thinks. When the day comes when the manager, or maybe even yourself, thinks you need to give your all to the club, that’s what will happen.
“At the minute I feel fine fitness wise, but when the day comes along when the manager says I have to play one or the other, club or country, I will have to focus on my Aston Villa career. But, we’ll see. I said before the European Championships that I would think about it after that, so we’ll see what happens.”
In the short-term, however, Given admitted that at least part of his desire to escape what turned out to be a nightmare at Manchester City was to ensure he was in tip-top condition for Ireland’s closing Euro 2012 qualifiers, and maybe even the tournament in Poland and the Ukraine next summer.
“The international situation was a big consideration,” said Given.
“Hopefully next year we’ll be at the European Championships — we’ve got huge games coming up at home to Slovakia and away to Russia. Last year, I didn’t ideally feel 100% match sharp in the games I did play.
“And we’ve got big games coming up and it’s important that I’m in top condition. But it’s not just that. I missed playing football. I missed the buzz of match days and going out performing.”
On the topic of Manchester City, Given isn’t too keen to dish the dirt on his former employers. He must surely have been hurt at being demoted to the bench by Roberto Mancini in favour of Joe Hart when he had hardly put a foot wrong during his season and half as number one at Eastlands.
But Given is far too polite to air his dirty laundry in public. Instead, he thanked the owner, Sheikh Mansour, and chairman, Khaldoon al-Mubarak, for bringing him to the club in the first place, and admitted that Mancini had wished him well on his departure.
All told, Given was keen to look forward, not back.
“It was a frustrating time,” said the Donegal native.
“But I spoke about that on occasions before when I was away with Ireland and the headlines the next day were about how frustrated I was, so I think I’ve spoken about that.
“Listen, it was frustrating not playing last year, but Joe Hart had a great season and you’ve just got to take it on the chin and move on. I spoke to Roberto Mancini before Man City went to LA and he was fine with me moving on.
“He said it was probably the best thing for my career to move, and that Villa were a great club to move to. But all that is water under the bridge and you move on in your career. Now for me, it’s hopefully creating something special at Aston Villa.”
Given also praised the support of Giovanni Trapattoni, his international manager, over the past year.
“He was always right behind me, always texting me in his broken English. He even texted me yesterday to congratulate me and wish me luck. He’s always been a fantastic support in the media, and I have a great rapport with him. I was speaking to him during the summer and he was talking about Dino Zoff, who he was managing when he was 42. That kind of talk has given me the confidence to believe I can play longer.
“Brad Friedel has just left this club and signed a two-year contract at Tottenham so I do believe that if you do the right stuff in the gym, you can play a lot longer as a goalkeeper. That’s my aim, I want to play as long as I possibly can.”
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