Stressed Jim Crawford still not sure what players are on Saturday flight to Montenegro

As it stands, only Bournemouth’s Gavin Kilkenny and Rotherham United’s JJ Kayode have been given the go-ahead to make the journey by their clubs

Republic of Ireland manager Jim Crawford speaking to the media after the UEFA European U21 Championship qualifier win over Luxembourg. Picture: Eóin Noonan/Sportsfile

Ireland U21 manager Jim Crawford remains confident that he will be able to bring most of his first-choice squad to Montenegro tomorrow in spite of ongoing issues over the Balkan nation’s soon-to-end presence on the UK red list.

Changes to the British list will see Montenegro removed from it as of Monday but UK-based players will still have to go through a form of isolation on their return to clubs who are still being pushed for an answer by the FAI as to whether their employees can travel.