Whelan wants England, then a repeat of ’88 win

FORMER captain Ronnie Whelan said he would like to see the Republic of Ireland paired with England in this evening’s Euro 2012 draw in Kiev.

Whelan, who was capped 53 times between 1980 and 1994, played in the famous Euro 88 win over Bobby Robson’s side in Stuttgart and believes then, like now, Ireland would be underdogs but could enter a meeting with their neighbours without trepidation.

“In 1988 we knew everybody that played for England and we played with a lot of them with our clubs and against the others week in and week out,” he said.