Ireland can still qualify - Givens

Don Givens believes the next Republic of Ireland manager will inherit a squad of players capable of propelling their country to the finals of the European Championship in Portugal in 2004.

Ireland have lost their opening two Group 10 qualifying matches and are already seven points behind early leaders Switzerland.

But after taking charge of the squad for last night’s friendly in Greece, Givens is confident the players left behind by former manager Mick McCarthy have the spirit and the ability to turn things around and stake a serious claim for a ticket to Portugal, albeit via the play-offs.

“I honestly believe Mick has left things very healthy,” said Givens.

“He has gradually reduced the age of the squad and left it in very good shape for the next manager to come in.

“I would like to think we can still qualify for the 2004 European Championships, although we have got a mountain to climb.

“We are seven points behind the group leaders, so realistically you are looking at a play-off place, but of course it is not impossible.

“The lads in the squad have performed very well before. They have had a blip now, but when the new manager comes in there will hopefully be a more positive attitude all round that we can go from there and get into those play-offs.”

Givens is hoping the goalless draw in Athens has stopped the rot after those two successive defeats, and that the team can bounce back in their qualifying double header in Georgia and Albania in March and April.

“I am sure this result has steadied things a little bit,” said Givens.

“I was certainly aware that we didn’t want to lose, that was first and foremost in the equation because we didn’t want to be having three defeats on the trot.”

Although 10 players withdrew from Givens’ squad on Sunday night – seven of whom would surely have started against the Greeks – there were still some positives for the new manager to take out of the friendly when he takes up his post, hopefully before the friendly in Scotland in February.

Manchester United’s John O’Shea looked accomplished at the heart of the defence on only his second senior appearance, while Richard Dunne from rivals City showed his versatility by playing as an emergency left-back and walking away with the man-of-the-match award.

The one main worry remains the fact that Ireland need a striker who can bang in the goals on a regular basis if they are to hold on to their ranking of 14th in the world.

“John took another step forward and Richard confirmed what a good player he is,” said Givens. “I have no doubts John will become a very good player for us, while I have always rated Richard highly.

“I think we shall always look solid defensively, but the hardest players to find who can do the business at international level are up front, because that is the hardest place to play.

“We are never ever going to have a conveyor belt of top strikers coming because we are a small country, but I don’t think we are too badly served when everybody is available.

“It is a position where we would like more competition but we can only work with what we’ve got and hopefully things will improve in the next 12 to 18 months.”