Whelan: We feel invincible

Sheffield Wednesday midfielder Glenn Whelan has revealed Republic of Ireland Under-21s go into each game with the belief they will not be beaten.

Manager Don Givens’ side stretched their unbeaten record to 13 games on Friday with a 3-0 win over Cyprus to begin their European Championship qualifying campaign with the ideal result.

Givens’ side now take on Switzerland at the Stadium Neufeld in Bern tonight looking to repeat their success of 11 months ago when they ran out 2-0 winners.

Whelan, whose first-half goal against the Cypriots laid the foundations for the win, insists confidence is soaring within the team.

“It is a boost for us going into matches knowing we have not been beaten, especially over the last few matches because we have never looked like losing,” said Whelan, who joined the Owls on a free transfer from Manchester City in the summer.

“In the last friendly game, Bulgaria twice came back at us, but we still got the win in the last minute. It shows the lads are confident and that we are giving our all right to the end and always looking to win.

“But the run is not the most important thing because we know that somewhere along the line we will be beaten and we will have to get over it.

“All we are looking to do is qualify from the group, so if we get the points and results now then when we are eventually beaten, it won’t matter.”

Whelan knows another victory in Switzerland will put the Irish in pole position, with Givens’ side currently on top of Group Four ahead of France who opened with a 1-0 victory over Israel.

“Switzerland will be a much better team than Cyprus, but if we give 110% then hopefully we can get a result,” added the 20-year-old.

“A draw would not be bad, but if we can get the win it would set us up for qualifying, although we can’t afford to get carried away because there are a lot of games to go.”

Givens makes just one change to the side which beat the Cypriots, with goalkeeper Wayne Henderson (on loan from Aston Villa to Notts County) returning after recovering from a hip injury in place of Swansea’s Brian Murphy.