No mercy for Blackburn teammate, says Georgia defender

Blackburn defender Zurab Khizanishvili is looking forward to playing club colleague Keith Andrews at Croke Park tomorrow, but insists he will be “my enemy on the pitch”.

Saying that is too early to predict who the group winner will be, Khizanishvili insisted that tomorrow will be the most important game for both Georgia and Ireland.

“Three points would make a big difference for us,” he said.

The former Rangers man is unlikely to get a warm reception from the Croke Park crowd, but Khizanishvili will be more focused on his supporters, despite their small numbers.

“I think a few hundred people are coming to watch the game,” he said. “It’s not enough of course with the 82,000 – but it’s still something for us!”

He also paid tribute to new Blackburn manager Sam Allardyce, even offering a parting shot to departed boss Paul Ince, saying: “It was so, so bad when Paul Ince was there.”