Green puts himself in the shop window

Paul Green is hoping his Euro 2012 adventure could help him find a new club for next season.

The 29-year-old midfielder received a late call-up to the Republic of Ireland squad after room-mate Keith Fahey was forced to pull out through injury on Saturday evening.

But as he dashed to Dublin to meet up with the rest of the squad ahead of Sunday morning’s flight to Italy for their pre-tournament training camp, Green’s domestic future remained very much up in the air.

His failure to agree a new deal with Derby means he will be unattached this summer, and the European Championships could provide him with the perfect platform to show off his talents.

Green said: “At the moment, I have left Derby and I am just looking for a club now. My agent is on to it and I think I have got a few clubs interested in me.

“But I have just got to concentrate on things out here now and put that to the back of my mind, and hopefully it will sort itself out when I get back.

“If I get to play in the championships, it would be the biggest achievement of my career so far, definitely.

“I never thought I would be here. I am absolutely delighted to be here and hopefully I can get involved at some time in the championships.”

Asked if he had instructed his agent to find him a Barclays Premier League club, Green replied: “No. I have just let him do his job and we will see what he can produce for me.

“I have just left it to him. But I have put the club situation to the back of my mind and I will hopefully get it sorted after the tournament.”

In the meantime, Green will attempt to bludgeon his way into the Ireland starting line-up with Glenn Whelan, Keith Andrews and Darron Gibson already involved in a tooth and nail scrap for selection in central midfield.

Manager Giovanni Trapattoni appreciates Green’s ability to break up play in the middle of the park, but he knows the competition is stiff.

Green said: “Whelan, Andrews and Gibson are all fantastic players playing in the Premier League, so no doubt it is going to be tough to get into the team.

“But I am there if anything happens and hopefully, I can get some time on the pitch.”

He will certainly do that this evening when the Republic play a Tuscan Select XI in a warm-up game at the Stadio Melani in Pistoia with Trapattoni keen to use the depth of his squad to test their readiness for the tournament.

They have just one more full-scale friendly, against Hungary in Budapest next Monday, before their tournament gets under way against Croatia in Poznan on June 10.

Green said: “It would be nice to get on and just show what I can do. If they do call upon me, I have to do a job in there for them.

“Hopefully I can break things up and get them playing. The manager knows what I can do and has called me up for a reason.”