Reid: I've nothing to apologise for
DAMIEN DUFF'S return to action with Fulham was the good news for Giovanni Trapattoni yesterday, but the bad news for the Italian is that the issue of the players surplus to his requirements just won't go away as he enters into the biggest week of recent Irish football history.
Fresh from another impressive outing for Sunderland, Andy Reid says he has nothing to apologise to the 70-year-old for in order to gain an international recall.
Reid has not been picked by Trapattoni for an Irish squad since being included as an unused substitute against Cyprus at Croke Park in October last year.
Trapattoni had strong words with the Dubliner after a late-night singing session following the game against Georgia in Mainz a month beforehand. That led to recent comments by Black Cats boss Steve Bruce that Reid should consider apologising if it was what the Irish boss needed to hear before handing the 27-year-old a recall.
"I think the point that the manager was trying to make was that if that's what it takes to get in it but the point I made to him was that I don't feel I've anything to say sorry for," said Reid yesterday. "I don't think I've done anything wrong. I just want to get on with playing football. If I get into the squad, I want to get in for football reasons. That's what I do. I'm not a politician or anything else."
Reid was back in the heart of his homeland of Dublin's south inner city as his father opened a taxi service in the regenerated district of Fatima.
The former Nottingham Forest and Tottenham star was in jovial mood as he was feted by former friends and hundreds of well-wishers but he refused to discuss the 'guitargate' incident that appears to be counting against him.
frustrated
"It's something I don't even want to go into. There's nothing I want to go into on that side of things," he said.
The 27-year-old will be a frustrated fan over the next ten days but he is confident his fellow countrymen can clinch a place in the finals in South Africa next summer by coming out on top in their play-off with France.
"I think we can do it. We can get a win in Dublin and I think we can go there and get a decent result," he stressed.
Trapattoni's favoured stars appear to have come through their weekend exertions unscathed, and will begin training in Malahide tomorrow morning after they link up in the team hotel in Portmarnock later today.
Duff's appearance for Fulham in their draw with Wigan was a huge boost. Roy Hodgson had spoken in negative terms during the week about the Dubliner's prospects of being involved.
However, the 30-year-old, who has been suffering with calf problems related to his Achilles, trained on Friday without a problem, and was deemed fit for the trip north.
After lasting the duration, he should be fine for the first encounter with the French at Croke Park next Saturday although the only concern would surround his ability to come through two high-intensity matches in close proximity, with the second leg just four days later.
A calf problem had negative consequences for the French camp, though, with Arsenal's Abou Diaby out of the World Cup play-off after being forced off early in his side's 4-1 defeat of Wolves.
The midfielder is only a back-up member of Domenech's party.
As it happened, a significant number of Trapattoni's squad weren't wanted by their club bosses at the weekend.
Kevin Kilbane, Paul McShane, Stephen Kelly, Eddie Nolan, Darren O'Dea, Darron Gibson, Liam Lawrence and Andy Keogh were all unused substitutes for their respective clubs.
- Daniel McDonnell and Stephen Finn
Irish Independent
