Murdoch fury over Connolly call-up row

Wimbledon manager Stuart Murdoch believes the Republic of Ireland could have “tarnished” David Connolly’s reputation in the row over his call-up.

Connolly, who was a member of the Republic’s World Cup squad in the summer, was mystified when he was left out of the original squad to face Greece by caretaker Ireland manager Don Givens despite scoring nine goals in five games.

Givens insists the 25-year-old striker then refused to join his countrymen after a late call-up due to injuries, but Dons boss Murdoch has accused the Irish of making a mess of the situation by failing to follow proper procedure.

He said: “I was surprised David received a phone call on his mobile on Saturday night – if that had been me I would have thought someone was pulling my leg.

“There has been no contact with Wimbledon at all and that’s not how things should be conducted. To call it a communication breakdown would be polite.

“It concerns me that his reputation could be tarnished because people are accusing him of not wanting to play. He loves his country and is always desperate to play for them.

“There is no way David Connolly would refuse to play for Ireland. If they had contacted us in the normal way we could have told them he was injured.”

Givens said he made a written note of the conversation after he got off the phone, and is sticking by his version of events.

He explained yesterday: “The conversation on the phone on Saturday evening went: ‘Hello David, it’s Don Givens. Are you fit?’ He said: ‘To what do I owe the honour of this phone call?’ I said: ‘I would like you to join the squad tomorrow?’

“He said: ‘Why was I not selected in the original squad?’ I said: ‘David, that was the choice I made.’ He said: ‘I should be the number one striker for Ireland, not number five.’ At that point I said to him: ‘David, do you want to come tomorrow?’ He said ‘no’ and I said: ‘Right David, good luck’ and put the phone down.

“That is 100% what the phone call was, nothing different to that. When I asked him if he was fit, I presumed he had a chance then to say yes, no or kiss my backside.

“That is all I have to say on the David Connolly issue and I don’t want it to become a negative force for Wednesday for the boys here. I’d prefer to talk about the boys who are looking forward to being involved.”

Connolly was substituted with a recurrence of a heel injury during Wimbledon’s 3-2 win against Walsall at the weekend, and is doubtful for next Monday’s clash with Derby County.

Murdoch said: “He split the stitches in his heel against Walsall. He played with them in, which is not ideal.

“I was disappointed for him that he was not in the Ireland squad from the start because his form has been outstanding.”

Connolly suffered a knee ligament injury on his return from the World Cup and missed the start of the Nationwide Division One season, but has been back in action for over a month.