Brady joy at Hendrick reunion

Robbie Brady says his circle with boyhood team-mate Jeff Hendrick will be complete tomorrow night should the pair feature for Ireland against Greece.

Friends and colleagues since they hooked up at St Kevin’s Boys from the age of eight, the duo have been virtually joined at the hip since.

While they both went their separate ways into professional football from the Dublin club at the age of 16, they’ve remained colleagues through the underage ranks at international level.

Brady, Hull City’s recent signing from Manchester United, holds the advantage over his rookie pal by collecting four caps since his debut against Germany in September.

This is a maiden call-up for Derby County’s Hendrick but Brady is adamant about the midfield powerhouse’s senior international calibre.

“Jeff had a big name since he was a kid and it’s good that he’s living up to it now,” said Brady.

“He’s just an all-round good midfield player. Even growing up you could see he was always one of the better ones around.

“We went on trial together to UK clubs as kids, Norwich City and West Bromwich were just two of them, and we’ve some funny memories of those trips.

“He obviously enjoyed Derby and felt it was the right move for him, while I joined Manchester United.”

That move to the Red Devils concluded one of the most frantic pursuits of a young Irish player since Anthony Stokes.

Alex Ferguson convinced Brady he’d get his chance at Old Trafford, something their local rivals Manchester City couldn’t guarantee.

True to his word, the United boss blooded his Irish fledgling on their pre-season tour and, briefly, as a Capital One Cup substitute in September against Newcastle United.

That would be the sum of his exposure at the Premier League leaders, however, as Hull City’s €2.75 million offer for him was accepted last month.

Does one of Ireland’s brightest talents hold any grudges against Ferguson or United for being shown the door? The answer is definitive.

“He (Ferguson) is the best manager in the world and the move was for the best,” said Brady.

“His experience brushed off a lot of us at United and I’ll try to bring at least some of that with me to Hull and Ireland.

“I didn’t know anything but United until last year when I moved on loan to Hull. I want to stay in the international set-up and moving to a Championship club like Hull going for promotion can only help that.”

Another strong showing from Brady tomorrow could secure him a spot for the crunch World Cup qualifier in Sweden on March 22.

The absence of Aiden McGeady and the highly-rated Anthony Pilkington have left Brady will a clear sight at playing his way into Giovanni Trapatton’s starting side.

Brady said: “We’ll use this game as preparation but I’m viewing it as a stepping stone to getting a place in the starting XI in the qualifiers.

“There are some fresh faces in this squad and it’s just getting to the stage where we need to gel together and get some good results. We have got some really tough games coming up next month against Sweden and Austria but its 90 minutes of football and the lads are all feeling good. So hopefully we can get some good results.”