Steve Staunton's squad for the trip to San Marino came through the weekend largely unscathed, with only Sunderland's Stephen Elliott obliged to withdraw from the trip due to an ankle injury. With 23 players still available to him this morning, Staunton said there would be no late call-ups ahead of the squad's departure from Dublin this afternoon.
Shay Given was last night named as the Eircom FAI International Player of the Year for the second time running. The Newcastle United goalkeeper was selected ahead of both Kevin Doyle and club-mate Damien Duff, both of whom were shortlisted for the award.
In a year, described by Staunton as a "rollercoaster", Given played four times for his country and conceded just two goals. His performances, combined with some of the results achieved in his absence, served to starkly underline just how important he is to the national team.
The 30-year-old, who dedicated the award to his three-day-old baby daughter, Sienna, said he was "delighted" to take the prize away again.
Asked about his recent injury problems he admitted the incident late last year when he punctured his bowel had been "horrific", but insisted the groin strain that has kept him out of this week's game would not prevent him returning for the games against Wales and Slovakia at Croke Park next month. "I should be back in three weeks and I'm very confident of being fully fit well before the Wales game," he said.
Doyle was named the country's Young Player of the Year after a sustained run of spectacular form for Reading and a series of strong performances in his first five senior international appearances. "It was a great 2006, all right," he said, "hopefully 2007 will be good too."
The night's other big player awards went to Drogheda United's Ollie Cahill, Kevin Foley of Luton Town and Harvard University's Alisha Moran.
Bobby Robson was named as the International Personality award, while UCD boss Pete Mahon received a Special Merit award and Don Givens was inducted into the Hall of Fame. Kevin Kilbane's strike against the Czech Republic in October was voted the international goal of the year.
The association has confirmed that Ireland will play friendly games against Ecuador and Bolivia in the US in May. The Republic will take on Ecuador, who finished as runners-up to Germany in their group at last summer's World Cup before going out to England in the second round, at the Giants Stadium in New Jersey on May 23rd while Bolivia, ranked 101 in the world, will play the Irish in Boston three days later.
The two South American sides are then due to face each other on June 1st in Barcelona. "I am delighted to secure these two friendlies," said Staunton, "and both teams will provide us with an excellent test. It is a great opportunity to get the lads together before the summer break and it is nice to give our many US-based fans a chance to see the team in action."
The FAI has played down talk of a revived "home nations" tournament in which the Republic of Ireland would take the place of England.
The committee that oversees the FAI's club licensing system has requested further information from Shelbourne as part of its review of the club's financial crisis. The committee expressed serious concerns regarding the situation, but has, for the time being, deferred a decision.
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