Givens turns to locally-based players

Don Givens believes he is faced with a double-edged sword these days when it comes to his role as Republic of Ireland Under-21 manager.

Givens has turned to Ireland’s domestic eircom League to cope with a spate of injuries for tomorrow’s friendly against Northern Ireland in Lurgan.

From the original 18-man squad, five key players in Liverpool’s Darren Potter, Paddy McCarthy of Leicester, Manchester City’s Willo Flood, David Bell of Rushden and Celtic’s Aiden McGeady have all withdrawn.

Of the replacements, three are from the eircom League in UCD defender Conor Kenna, Drogheda midfielder Stephen Bradley and Bohemians striker Stephen Ward.

Givens believes there are more options currently available to him within the eircom League compared to a couple of years ago, but feels it is still not strong enough for players to progress to senior level.

“There are a lot of boys now coming home from England because of cutbacks, not necessarily in the Premier League but in other divisions, and who cannot get contracts,” said Givens

“To be fair, they are maturing quicker by playing in the eircom League, rather than by playing reserve-team football for English clubs. First-team football is proving far more beneficial for them.

“Over the last couple of seasons the standard in the eircom League has been raised. They are run a lot more professionally, the facilities are getting better and the pitches they are playing on are much better.

“The flip side is if these boys are to progress to full international level, which is what I am all about, then to be ready for that they need to be playing in a higher league.

“Hopefully, they are only coming home for a short while and they will eventually return to England where the standard is higher.”

Tomorrow’s clash continues the recent increase in cross-border matches, following on from the successful Setanta Cup tournament a few months ago and last month’s Champions League qualifying tie between Shelbourne from Dublin and Glentoran of Belfast.

Givens is happy to play his part, adding: “This game is a little bit different, and a little bit special.

“There’s national pride at stake, so this is one match we do not want to lose.”