Trap admits Hoolahan overlooked in past but plays down Swede role

Giovanni Trapattoni last night admitted he had overlooked Wes Hoolahan’s claims for an Irish jersey in the past but, in the next breath, appeared to play down the player’s chances of featuring in next month’s World Cup qualifier in Sweden.

The Norwich City man made a notable contribution off the bench at the Aviva Stadium last night, injecting some badly-needed control into the home team’s passing game and scoring a superb second goal to make the victory safe.

“In the past there have been questions about Hoolahan,” said Trapattoni. “I said I know him very well. He’s not old but we have the young players like Shane Long and James McCarthy. I thought we needed two strikers in our team.