Finnan and Steven Reid may make play-offs

LIAM BRADY expressed the hope that both Steve Finnan and Steven Reid would be fit to play some part in next month’s World Cup’s play-offs against France after confirming with the Blackburn Rovers midfielder he is indeed well on the road to recovery.

The Ireland assistant manager was speaking after Reid had reacted with surprise over the weekend to comments made after the game against Montenegro last week by Giovanni Trapattoni to the effect that the midfielder might never recover from his injury problems.

“That’s something that we have clarified today,” said Brady, who was speaking at an event to promote ESPN’s coverage of the English and Scottish Premier Leagues. “Giovanni was talking in a very general way about knee injuries and it’s unfortunate that it came across to Steven that he was talking about Steven’s knee.

“The news we have from Blackburn is that Steven will make a full recovery and the sooner that happens the better. The manager believes that 100 per cent. He showed in the three games that he played for us that he’s an outstanding midfield player and we want him back.”

The suggestion that Trapattoni was misunderstood last week may be a little far-fetched – the Italian was asked about Reid on at least three separate occasions during a long press conference and went into detail with his views on the player’s medical condition more than once – but the collective confidence that the 28 year-old is close to a return is good news.

Reid said over the weekend the operation to address his knee ligament problems had been a complete success and that his recovery had, a couple of minor setbacks aside, gone entirely to schedule.

He hopes to be available for the play-offs, although he conceded he may not have played enough football for Blackburn by then to be in contention to start in either match.

Brady, meanwhile, said he had not been surprised when France were drawn to play Ireland. “I had a feeling”, he said. “Marco (Tardelli) had a feeling too.

“Portugal have Ronaldo and Russia have Arshavin but France . . . they have got an abundance of really top players, which makes the tie quite daunting.

“Having said that, though, a lot will be down to how the teams go about things. I don’t want to go too much into their problems but it hasn’t been a straightforward qualifying campaign for them, they’ve had their problems.

“So we’ll be dissecting all the games they’ve played, the strengths and the weaknesses of their side, the individuals that they’ve got: the manager is very thorough with those things.

“Of course, they’ve got very, very strong attacking players,” he concluded. “They’ve got (Franck) Ribery, they’ve got (Nicolas) Anelka, (Thierry) Henry, (Karim) Benzema; they’re playing for the best clubs in the world. But it’s all about how we play as a team.

“We’ve obviously got to stop them from scoring, particularly in Dublin, and then we’ve got to get the result in Paris to finish it off. We’re a strong team. I think we’ve proven that in the qualifying games.”

Republic of Ireland’s Record in Play-offs

1966 World Cup Play-off

Nov 10th, 1965 in Paris v Spain

The Irish were handed the task of beating Spain over two legs for a place at the finals in England. They won at home, but an away loss meant a rematch on neutral soil.

When it came to the crunch, a team that included Johnny Giles and Eamon Dunphy wasn’t quite good enough to match the champions of Europe, at Parc des Princes.

A strike by Atletico Madrid winger (Jose) Ufarte proved enough to get Spain through.

Result:Lost 1-0

Euro ’96

Dec 12th, 1996 at Anfield v Netherlands

Ireland’s hopes of automatic qualification had evaporated on a rainy night in Lisbon where they were well beaten by the Portuguese. The Dutch then proved too strong too, with Patrick Kluivert getting a goal in each half to send the huge Irish travelling support home disappointed.

Paul McGrath, John Aldridge and Denis Irwin all featured in a strong Ireland side but the defeat marked the end of the Jack Charlton era.

Result:Lost 2-0

1998 World Cup Play-off

Oct 29th 1997 in Dublin

Nov 15th in Brussels v Belgium

The Republic of Ireland scored in both legs, but so did Luc Nilis and the 2-1 defeat in the away leg, where Mick McCarthy felt his side came off on the wrong side of a couple of refereeing decisions, proved decisive in the end.

A young Shay Given left the pitch distraught after the defeat, while Tony Cascarino, Steve Staunton and Lee Carsley were amongst the other Irish players to feature.

Result:Lost 3-2 on aggregate

Euro 2000

Nov 13th, 1999 in Dublin

Nov 15th in Bursa v Turkey

The Irish were hampered by the loss of the injured Niall Quinn for the first leg and the suspended Robbie Keane for the second.

The now Ireland skipper gave his side the lead in Dublin, but Lee Carsley was penalised for handball and Havutcu Tayfur converted the penalty. Rustu Recber chipped in with a few fine saves in the two legs and Mick McCarthy’s men went out.

Result:Lost on away goals after the games finished 1-1 on aggregate.

2002 World Cup

Nov 10th, 2001 in Dublin

Nov 15th in Tehran v Iran

It was a case of third time lucky for Mick McCarthy whose side landed the plum draw of the Asian team. Ian Harte gave the home side the lead from penalty spot and Robbie Keane added a second.

Roy Keane pulled out of the second leg which the Irish hung on to win. The absence of the then Manchester United midfielder was to prove a major factor in what was to follow in Saipan.

Result:Won 2-1 on aggregate.