King refuses to rush selection decision

With every day, every training session and every discussion with staff and players, Noel King is edging closer to solving the puzzle of what he calls “fitting everybody together” for Friday night’s daunting assignment in Cologne.

Actually, the fitting together bit is daunting enough in itself, especially with time so tight for Ireland’s caretaker manager.

“If you think about all that, you’ll go mad,” he said yesterday. “But this is where we are, as the fella says. You have to deal with what you have to deal with. I have no gripes. You didn’t have to take the job if you didn’t want it (laughs).”