Former Newcastle United head coach and academy manager Brian Eastick has been appointed the new Republic of Ireland Under-21 assistant manager.
Eastick takes over from Neil Banfield, who has been forced to step down as assistant to boss Don Givens after being recently handed the role of Arsenal reserve team manager.
Eastick brings with him a wealth of experience as he has served in a number of coaching positions at Chelsea, Birmingham, Sheffield United, Coventry and QPR, as well as working as assistant to Brian Hamilton when he was manager of Northern Ireland.
Givens said: "I welcome Brian's appointment and I look forward to working with him as we fulfil our remaining fixtures in the European Under-21 Championships and continue to build our squad at this level for the future."
Meanwhile, Don Givens has called together a squad of 18 players for a training week at Lilleshall National Sports Centre from 16-20 May in preparation for his side’s upcoming European Championship game against Israel at Flancare Park, Longford.
Republic of Ireland Under-21 Squad for Training Week in Lilleshall:
Saul Deeney (Notts County), Wayne Henderson (Aston Villa), Kevin Foley (Luton Town), Michael Timlin (Fulham), Paddy McCarthy (Leicester City), John Fitzgerald (Blackburn Rovers), Henry McStay (Leeds Utd), Paul McShane (Manchester Utd), Alan Sheehan (Leicester City), Willo Flood (Manchester City), Patrick Cregg (Arsenal), Joe O’Brien (Bolton Wanderers), David Bell (Rushden & Diamonds), Sean Thornton (Sunderland), Stephen Dawson (Leicester City), Karl Birmingham (Manchester City), John McAliskey (Huddersfield Town) and Mark Quigley (Millwall).
