King hails Hendrick’s senior call-up

Ireland U21 boss Noel King reckons more of his gems can follow Jeff Hendrick into the senior fold after he yesterday drafted in a dozen uncapped players for the upcoming friendly against Holland.

The workout against the Dutch at Tallaght Stadium on February 6 will be his sole warm-up in advance of the qualifiers for the 2015 European Championship finals.

Having lost graduates Robbie Brady and Hendrick to Giovanni Trapattoni’s full set-up, King is planning without them even though they remain underage and could feature if not required by the Italian.

“Jeff had an excellent year with the U21s and fully deserves his senior call-up. Playing with better players at international level will improve him. There is certainly more in him to come out.”

Twelve of King’s selection formed part of the U19 squad which reached the semi-finals of the European Championships in Romania.

Another player who’ll look to use the friendly as a springboard to catch Trap’s eye is Bradford City’s Carl McHugh.

His maiden call-up crowns a meteoric week for the 19-year-old after he helped the Bantams secure a shock League Cup semi-final victory over Aston Villa.

Meanwhile, Cobh Ramblers will open their Airtricity League First Division campaign with a visit to Wexford Youths on Saturday, March 9 following the publication of the fixtures for the season yesterday.

The Cork club were awarded a First Division license by the FAI on Thursday, four years on for their last appearance in the League. Due to financial problems within the club, the FAI had refused to grant them a licence during the intervening period.

Central to this successful application was an agreement to allocate €25,000 in back-money for unpaid wages from their last season in the league.

IRELAND U21 squad: A McCarey (Wolves), S McDermott (Sandnes Ulf); M Doherty (Wolves), M O’Brien (Derby), S Duffy (Everton), J Shaughnessy (Aberdeen), C McHugh (Bradford City), C Bolger (Leicester City), A O’Connor (Burton Albion), D Williams (Aston Villa); S Murray (Watford), Chris Forrester (St Patrick’s Athletic), C Reilly (Birmingham City), K Ferdinand (Peterborough), J O’Sullivan (Blackburn Rovers), S Carruthers (Aston Villa), A Forde (Wolves); C Smith (Watford), A O’Brien (Millwall), F Sutherland (Portsmouth).

Picture: Jeff Hendrick in action against Italy’s Francesco Bardi during last June’s UEFA Under-21 Championship 2013 qualifier. Picture: Stephen McCarthy / SPORTSFILE