Andrews: We will prove tie is not over

Midfielder Keith Andrews will need no extra motivation as he heads into the Republic of Ireland’s World Cup showdown with France.

The 29-year-old Dubliner became embroiled in a furious row with France’s Lassana Diarra, which developed into an ugly melee, after referee Felix Brych brought an end to last night’s 1-0 play-off first leg victory for the visitors at Croke Park.

Andrews refused to reveal exactly what had been said, but the suggestion is the tenor of Diarra’s comments was that the tie was over.

However, the Blackburn player insisted neither he nor his team-mates need any added incentive going into Wednesday night’s return leg at the Stade de France.

He said: “If we needed any more motivation other than getting to the World Cup there would be something wrong with us.

“It’s nothing. The lads are fully aware of what he said, but we don’t really need extra motivation.

“We are hell-bent on getting to this World Cup and it is certainly not over.

“It was just a comment one of their players made that I felt was certainly disrespectful, not just towards me but towards the lads and I lost my head a little bit.”

Asked about the details of his heated conversation with the Real Madrid star, which was followed by a shoving match in which Richard Dunne and Yoann Gourcuff, among others, became involved,

Andrews said: “I would rather not say.

“I know the manager has commented on it. Basically, we are in a massive two-legged game and you don’t really expect that sort of comment from a fellow professional, no matter who he plays for.

“I felt it was a comment that wasn’t really needed, especially considering the tie is only halfway through.”

Nicolas Anelka’s deflected 72nd-minute shot ultimately divided the sides in Dublin but the Republic are refusing to give up.

“We have certainly got a lot of positives to take from the game,” Andrews said. “We did create chances and a few decisions went against us, but we know we can improve as well.

“We know that was not our best performance by any means and we are thoroughly looking forward to this game.

“We feel we limited them to a few chances and we are going to go there looking to force the pace and really stamp our authority on this game.”