Republic of Ireland boss Mick McCarthy confirmed today that veteran stars Steve Staunton and Niall Quinn are both carrying knocks following the first-leg of the World Cup 2002 play-off at Lansdowne Road on Saturday but he is confident they will be fit to start on Thursday. "Stan and Niall feel a bit stiff and sore but that's what happens when you get players over 30 I suppose and they get knocks. I think they're going to be okay but we'll see. Thursday's the game so I'm hopeful they will be alright," he explained.
Staunton is also optimistic that he will recover in time for Thursday's vital game. "I've just got a bit of a stiff back. Hopefully, it will loosen up in the next couple of days and we'll take it from there really," he said.
McCarthy admitted that he was surprised by how well Iran defended during Saturday's game. The Irish may have emerged with a 2-0 victory but it took a penalty kick to get them on their way after Iran proved themselves worthy opponents. "I knew they were going to be a tough game as they have some good players but what did surprise me was how well they defended and how competitive they were. I knew they'd be keen to win it but I thought they defended exceptionally well and threw themselves in the way of shots and blocked them and tackled them with quiet resolute," admitted McCarthy.
However, McCarthy does not expect Thursday's game to reflect Saturday night's clash. "It will be different out there. They'll need to score now so they'll open themselves up more to try and score against us. We're not going there to defend. We'd like to score an away goal and if we do that will give them major problems," he added.
The Irish squad have arrived in Tehran for Thursday's match but will not undergo any training today following their long plane journey. They will undertake some light training tomorrow and Wednesday.
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
