Rejuvenated Reid ready to roll back the years

When Andy Reid ambles over to the press huddle at Gannon Park, the first questions are inevitably all about his return to the Irish camp and the changes he has observed after an absence of five years.

“I suppose it’s been a little bit strange after so long but everybody has welcomed me back in and it’s been nice, yeah,” he says. “I think one thing I probably have noticed is that things are a lot more professional than maybe they have been in the past, with our recovery drinks and all the different bits of nutritional stuff that goes with it — but I suppose that’s just football moving on in general. The medical staff have moved on too and they’ve improved things vastly.

“It’s been a nice few days catching up with people again and we’ve got quite a bit of good work done on the training pitch with regards to the game on Friday night.”