Shay misses being our No 1

Shay Given has admitted he misses playing for the Republic of Ireland and has not ruled out the possibility of adding to his 125 caps.

Given retired from international football after Euro 2012 and conceded yesterday: “There’s no getting away from it, I still miss playing for Ireland and enjoyed every minute of it. It was a big decision [to retire]. I just felt it was time for someone else to take on the mantle.”

Asked on Goals On Sunday if manager Giovanni Trapattoni had tried to convince him to change his mind, Given replied: ‘‘Not really. He was respectful. I was obviously respectful of him. I spoke to him before I announced it and he was grateful for what I’d done.’’

However, Given said he would be willing to come back in the event of an injury crisis.

“[Trap] did say if he needed me in an emergency would I come back and I said if that was the case I would put the jersey back on.”

The 36-year-old joked he would have to come out of retirement to stop the 122-times capped Robbie Keane from overtaking his appearance record.

“I’m going to make a comeback next year when he gets up to 125. Everybody loves a comeback,” he quipped.

The Aston Villa goalkeeper still believes Trapattoni is the right man for the Ireland job for now but feels that if the side fail to qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil it will be time for change.

“I think if you are going to change the manager you should do it at the start of the campaign or at the end,” Given said. “I don’t think it’s the right time in the middle of a campaign.”