Charlton captain Mark Kinsella is set to take over from injured Irish captain Roy Keane in Thursday's second-leg of the World Cup 2002 play-off against Iran. Keane returned home to Manchester today after he aggravated his troublesome knee injury during Saturday's 2-0 win at Lansdowne Road but as manager Mick McCarthy pointed out, Kinsella will prove an able replacement in the absence of the influential Irish captain.
"It was disappointing to lose Keane but when you have someone like Mark Kinsella to step in for you who's been brilliant whenever he's played for us it makes the blow a lot easier to accept," said McCarthy. The Irish manager is also confident that the partnership of Kinsella and Matt Holland in the centre of the field will bring Ireland further success, just as it did in the 2-0 win over Estonia last June. "They were outstanding there and they are both good players. Their responsibilities as captains at their clubs can only help and we've got a lot of good characters on the field," he added.
Kinsella himself is delighted to be handed the task of replacing Keane on Thursday. "Of course I was disappointed to be left out on Saturday but you have to take it on the chin. I understood the manager's thinking because Matt has done well since I was out following my hernia operation in the summer. I'm fully fit now and I think Matt and I can show together that there is more to this team than just Roy Keane. People always say we'll struggle when Roy is out and of course he is a massive loss but we showed in Estonia that we can do a job without him and with a repeat of that performance we'll be fine," he said.
Filed by Amanda Fennelly
