McCarthy - evaluating his younger talent.
HERO McCARTHY PLANS AHEAD
By Neil Silver, PA Sport
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Mick McCarthy arrived back in Dublin with his Republic of Ireland team and immediately start planning for the future.
The Ireland boss has lost three of his veterans, but has a dozen different
players pushing for a place in the squad he will name for the friendly against
Finland in Helsinki on August 17.
Captain Steve Staunton, Niall Quinn and Alan Kelly have all retired from
international football following the World Cup campaign in South Korea and
Japan, and will therefore take no part in the qualifying campaign for the 2004
European Championships in Portugal.
There may be a fourth retirement if former skipper Roy Keane keeps his promise
to retire after the tournament too.
The Manchester United midfielder was sent home in disgrace from the trip and
will only return to the squad if he makes an apology to McCarthy.
On a brighter note, McCarthy has Tottenham pair Steve Carr and Gary Doherty
coming back from injury, while Celtic's Colin Healy and Rory Delap of
Southampton will be able to stake their claims. The goalkeeping vacancy created
by Kelly's departure will go to Hibernian's Nicky Colgan.
Then there are four new faces who are likely to be part of the new era of
Irish football. Manchester United defender John O'Shea is a possible long-term
replacement for Staunton, while Millwall striker Richard Sadlier could be the
man to take over from Quinn.
Sunderland midfielder Thomas Butler and Millwall defender Robbie Ryan are two
other young players who will figure in McCarthy's plans at some stage.
Finally, Bolton's Gareth Farrelly and Stephen McPhail of Leeds are two players
who have been capped before and will hope to capture the attention of the
international manager again, while Wolves winger Mark Kennedy will be back after
missing out on the World Cup through injury.
Apart from the new faces, McCarthy is grateful for the experience some of his
younger players have gained from the World Cup campaign.
He said: "We have lost three players to retirement but we are gaining some of
the younger players who are only 22, 23, but have got 30 caps between them.
"Players like Ian Harte, Robbie Keane, Damien Duff, Shay Given and Steve
Finnan are youngsters with lots of caps, they have had huge experience with
their caps and huge experience of the World Cup as well."
McCarthy's former club Millwall is serving him well, as another player to
emerge from the tournament with great credit was winger Stephen Reid.
Having agreed a two-year extension to his contract which takes him up to Euro
2004, McCarthy knows he must secure qualification from a group which includes
Russia and Switzerland.
"We have played well in the World Cup and what we need to do now is qualify
for the European Championships, back to back tournaments and continue to play as
well as we have," said McCarthy. "It will be a tough qualifying campaign and
we'll have to maintain those performances in qualifying games."
The Irish party were whisked away after arriving back in Dublin for a welcome
celebration in Phoenix Park, where 50,000 people were expected to turn out.
"I think we've had a good World Cup and can go home with our heads held high
and feel very proud about the way we've played," added McCarthy. "If the
people at home want to give us a welcome back we are be delighted to accept
it."
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