Givens tips Elliott to make grade

Republic of Ireland Under-21 boss Don Givens feels certain rising star Stephen Elliott will not be fazed by the demands of the Barclays Premiership next season.

Elliott’s form for Sunderland has not only steered Mick McCarthy’s side to the top of the Coca-Cola Championship, but also earned him a first senior call-up for a competitive match.

After 13 goals in 28 league starts for the Black Cats, Elliott will be on the bench for Saturday’s World Cup qualifier against Israel at the Ramat-Gan Stadium, instead of playing for the under-21s at the Herzliya Stadium tomorrow.

Givens believes he will not see Elliott playing at under-21 level again, and even feels the 21-year-old is not far away from becoming Robbie Keane’s regular forward partner ahead of Clinton Morrison.

It is why Givens believes Elliott has what it takes to thrive in the top flight, if Sunderland manage to clinch promotion come May.

“I think he’s gone to the seniors for good now and I’d be surprised if I had him back because when you look there isn’t an abundance of strikers there,” said Givens, who knows a good forward when he sees one after scoring 19 goals during his own international career

“The front two are Robbie and Clinton, and to my way of thinking I’ve a feeling it will not be too long before Stephen overtakes Clinton if his progress continues because he is a goalscorer and a hard worker.

“He is nothing special in build-up play and he doesn’t have Robbie’s inventiveness, but he knows where the goal is.

“He has that nose for goal, the kind of player where the ball goes in off his backside, someone who can be in the right place at the right time and that’s a great ability to have.

“If Sunderland do go up, then nine times out of 10 they are going to struggle in games unless a miracle occurs and they invest heavily, which probably won’t happen.

“They’re going to be the poorer side in most of the games they play next season, so it will limit Stephen’s opportunities as a striker.

“It will be a step up for him, but I expect him to hold his own. I don’t see a problem there.”

After autumn defeats to Switzerland and France in their European Championship qualifying campaign, Givens could have done with Elliott in his side to boost hopes of success over Israel.

“Stephen’s been promoted, and that’s great, but with him not there our ability to score goals is diminished,” added Givens.

“I’ve talked to Brian [Kerr] about it and I couldn’t argue with what he had to say. In his position I would want Stephen Elliott in my squad as well.

“If you’ve somebody like him on the bench in an important a game as against Israel, he is always likely to get you goals.”

Givens is also without two other key players in the suspended Paddy McCarthy and the injured Stephen Kelly.