Mick McCarthy hoping for a fit Robbie Brady

Mick McCarthy reckons Robbie Brady is the perfect fit for the right side of the Irish midfield but the Burnley player’s imperfect fitness continues to be an issue as the days tick down to next month’s Euro 2020 qualification decider against Denmark.

“I think if Robbie Brady was fully fit, he fits the bill there doing that,” said McCarthy, after recalling the Dubliner for his latest squad.

“But he’s not. He’s getting there. I’d love him to be fit because he can cope with it.

“He’s a left-footer but he does it really well (playing on the right side), because he can use both feet.

“I’d love to have him back because he’s been one of our best players, certainly the one that can open up the door and find a good pass and he’s got a goal in him.

Even in his last cameo appearance (at home to Gibraltar in June), he still got in at the far post and scored his goal. He’s got great delivery and good set pieces too.

“Yes, I’d love to have him fit. Let’s hope he gets some games but I don’t pick Dychey’s team. Sean and I are mates but he’s not going to pick him to suit me, that’s for sure.”

There are, however, encouraging signs, with the 27-year-old having featured in Burnley’s last two games, starting against Leicester City before being substituted and then coming off the bench to have a hand in both goals as the Clarets briefly threatened an unlikely late comeback in their 4-2 defeat to Chelsea.

And it means there could be added significance to the friendly against New Zealand four days before the Danish decider, with Brady among a number of players – including Shane Duffy, Conor Hourihane and James McClean – who, if they continue to find themselves short of game time at their clubs, could benefit from getting minutes under their belts against the All-Whites.

“Robbie would come into that category,” McCarthy confirmed.

“If you have not played for two or three weeks, they will all tell you that they are okay but they want to play and they want to be match-hardened.

"Right, it’ s a friendly against New Zealand but you get out of friendlies what you put in. And if you want to be preparing yourself for the game against Denmark, you would want to be giving it the full tilt, that’s for sure. And they always do, to be fair.

“Whatever I think before that (about the make-up of the team for the game against the Danes), if Robbie has not been playing and I play him against New Zealand and he looks the real deal, I’d be happy about that.”

McCarthy remains optimistic that Darren Randolph will have recovered from injury in time to play against Denmark but is happy with his goalkeeping cover in the form of the experienced Keiren Westwood and young contenders Mark Travers and Kieran O’Hara, as well as Caoimhim Kelleher who will play for Liverpool in tonight’s Caribou Cup game against Arsenal. “If I’ve to throw a young one in I’d have no problem with that,” McCarthy said.

In front of the ‘keeper, McCarthy revealed that Ireland will revert to a flat back four – with Matt Doherty slotting in for the suspended Seamus Coleman - after the the unsuccessful experiment with 3-5-2 in Geneva.

At the other end of the pitch, Troy Parrott looks certain to get an outing against New Zealand but McCarthy has made it clear that seniority and experience will count for a lot when it comes to picking his starting 11 against the Danes.

However, whether that means he will stay loyal to James McClean – out of form in recent games for his country and out of favour at his club – remains to be seen.

“In terms of his performances, I’m not going to say that he’s been - certainly in the last game - better or worse than anyone else,” said the manager.

And I know what I get out of James. So I don’t know, he has been a bit in and out, but mind you Stoke have as well. With their results and what’s gone on, it’s not easy playing in there.

Having recently complained about what he regards as a lack of positivity in media coverage of Ireland’s prospects of qualifying for the Euro 2020 finals, McCarthy returned to the theme yesterday.

“Would you have taken this situation on December 1, when the draw was made?” he asked journalists. “Yeah, you would because you don’t think we’re that good anyway.

"None of you think we are that good or the players are that good. That was the feeling before I came in: they were getting caned, they were getting panned.

“And, all of a sudden, there is a sigh of relief when we don’t get Germany and Holland. Then we get Switzerland and Denmark.

"That’s a real piece of piss, isn’t it? Everybody wasn’t dancing about with their knickers in the air thinking we were just going to win.

“No, we’re the third-best team in the group and we can win it on this game. We’d have all taken that. So how about giving it a bit of a lift, this game? Tell you what: give it a lift, big it up and we’ll all have a great atmosphere and we’ll all enjoy it.

"If we don’t, I’ll take the brickbats from you, but at least give us a chance to start with.

"At least big the game up as what it is: a great opportunity for us. And one that we can win.”