Three members of the Republic of Ireland's squad sat out training this morning at the AUL complex in Dublin ahead of Wednesday's World Cup 2002 qualifer against Andorra at Lansdowne Road. Kenny Cunningham, Steve Finnan and Mark Kinsella were rested by Ireland manager Mick McCarthy. However, they all should be fit to play on Wednesday. However, as Cunningham is on one yellow card (as is Robbie Keane, Jason McAteer and the absent Roy Keane), there is a chance that McCarthy will not risk playing him.
Meanwhile, Gary Kelly, who was left out of the original squad because of injury, was among those who joined up with Mick McCarthy and the rest of the players today. McCarthy is expected to name his team some time tomorrow.
One player who is relishing Wednesday’s night clash is Manchester City winger Mark Kennedy, who is back in the squad for the first time since last September. Kennedy was left out of the Irish set-up over the past seven months due to a culmination of his off-the-field activities - he was arrested along with Irish team-mate Phil Babb in Dublin after a late-night incident last September before the squad were due to fly to Amsterdam - and injury, which has plagued him over the winter months.
However, Kennedy has now put all that behind him and is hoping to feature in McCarthy's line-up against the Andorrans. "It sounds weird but it’s just part and parcel of life and it wasn’t really a problem. It sounds a bit blasé but it was something that was forgotten about not long after it happened. Myself and Phil didn’t go out and plan to do it. It happened, it’s done and dusted and it’s not a problem for me. You learn from the mistakes you make in life. I can accept it as long as other people have and it won’t happen again," he explained.
"I’ve also had my injuries but there’s nothing I could do about that. They were just things that happened. Three months in all, I was out, but I like to take each day as it comes and with injuries I don’t think you can set targets because one day you train and feel good and then two days later your leg could feel crap," he added.
"Mick hasn’t named the team," confirmed Kennedy. "We went through a bit of shadow play and he chopped and changed the lads so no one knows if they are playing or not but we will all be supportive of each other and hopefully the fans will get behind us as they always do and we can get the three points. What the lads have done so far is remarkable and hopefully, we can continue that."
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
