Trap dismisses Blackburn speculation

Giovanni Trapattoni moved quickly last night dismiss speculation linking him to the vacant manager’s job at Blackburn Rovers.

With the Championship club’s owners said to be working through a lengthy list of candidates to identify the successor to Steve Kean, rumours suddenly swept the internet that the Ireland manager had actually applied for the position, with one betting website even installing him as a 20-1 third favourite for the job.

However, Trapattoni himself denied there was any truth in the story.

“I’m not even aware of it,” he said. “It must be agent chit-chat. I’m not interested anyway. I’m concentrating on the job in hand.”

Meanwhile, in another late call-up for the games against Germany and the Faroe Islands, 21-year-old Chelsea midfielder Conor Clifford has been added to the panel.

The FAI insisted last night that there were no further injury concerns and that Clifford was simply an addition to the squad.