Kelly hints Westwood may have blown Irish chance

Keiren Westwood may have jeopardised his international prospects by withdrawing from the Ireland squad for the concluding World Cup qualifiers against Germany and Kazakhstan.

That was the message emerging yesterday from goalkeeping coach Alan Kelly ahead of the squad’s departure to Cologne for tomorrow’s meeting with the Group C leaders.

Despite being Ireland’s only Premier League stopper, Sunderland’s Westwood was unable to reclaim his place from David Forde for last month’s duels with Sweden and Austria.

Any chance of convincing interim boss Noel King of his credentials evaporated on Saturday when he pulled out on the basis of requiring medical treatment over the international window.

Kelly revealed yesterday that Westwood himself influenced the decision, while confirming the injury won’t sideline the custodian for any of Sunderland’s matches.

“I spoke to him and the club decided to pull him out,” he said.

“Obviously he wanted to get the injections himself as well and, between both of them, they withdrew him from the squad. I think he’s not going to miss a club game.”

Pressed on whether Westwood should have turned up, Kelly’s inert diplomacy didn’t hide his opinion.

“You want to have everyone available. Sometimes those decisions are taken out of your hands,” he admitted.

“Rob Elliott [from Newcastle United] has come in, so too has Stephen Henderson at a moment’s notice. I’m delighted to see our keepers working with a new one in Rob. It’s good as it freshens it up.”

This pair of matches – with Ireland out of qualification contention and looking to the future – might have afforded Westwood a springboard to impress the next Ireland boss, should he be observing the action tomorrow or Tuesday when Kazakhstan visit Dublin.

King is also due to supply the chosen one with a dossier from his experiences of the squad, however brief the caretaker role is to be.

Absent from that report will be a man who has played just two friendlies of Ireland’s last 11 outings.

Overall, then, an opportunity blown? “You have to be here to have an effect,” emphasised Kelly. “I will speak with him; I always do. The decision was made and there was nothing Noel or I could do about it.”

In Kelly, King will have with him a member of the last Ireland team to taste victory against Germany.

That the 2-0 victory in Hannover 19 years ago was the goalkeeper’s first full cap only illuminates the memory in the 45-year-old’s mind.

“It was just before the 1994 World Cup and Jack Charlton told me in training the day beforehand I was playing,” recalled Kelly. “There was a lot of pressure playing against the Germans but I kept a clean sheet and we won.”

Kelly is also adamant repeating the shock against the current German crop, shouldn’t be discounted.