Keane puts onus on Reid to prove himself

IRISH INTERNATIONAL SQUAD ANNOUNCEMENT:  SUNDERLAND MANAGER Roy Keane believes Giovanni Trapattoni's decision to omit Andy Reid from the Republic of Ireland squad for next week's friendly international game is the result of a personal rift between the pair. But the Corkman insists it is up to the midfielder to get on with things and play well enough to make his claim for a place impossible for the Italian to ignore.

Asked at a press conference, called by Sunderland yesterday to preview the club's League Cup game against Blackburn this evening, if he believes there is a "personal difficulty" between Trapattoni and Reid, Keane replied: "Clearly there is but that happens in football. If he sat down and off the record gave his reasons why he is not picking certain players, I bet you'd think 'Yes, I can see why'. Let's not play dumb here.

"But they (Ireland) have had some good results and Trapattoni has worked at a lot of top Italian teams. He might have a prototype of what players should be like, or look like. If some players do not fall into that category, there is a good chance they will not be picked.

"When you look at the players selected last time, even the ones ahead of Liam Miller - lads like Glenn Whelan who had not been playing at Stoke and young Gibson at United, you can see that Trapattoni obviously has his own ideas."

The fact that Reid made the bench for the Cyprus game but then failed to get on during the 90 minutes was very much in line with Trapattoni's previous treatment of the Dubliner who, like Bolton Wanderers' Joey O'Brien, has yet to play under the Italian.

Keane, though, believes if Reid can fulfil his potential at Sunderland, where he has also recently had to endure a spell on the sidelines recently, then he can play himself right into the Italian's plans for the future.

"If Reidy has not been playing regularly for me," he says, "then that might add up and he (Trapattoni) thinks, 'Oh well, he is not part of my plans at the moment'. But all of this is a challenge for Reidy: can you prove the manager wrong? Can you get yourself in my team on a weekly basis, playing top football for 90 minutes every week? Can you get back in that squad?

"Andy Reid in good form would certainly be in the Irish squad, without a shadow of doubt, but listen, I have left players out and I am sure our punters have thought: 'I'm surprised he is not in'.

"Like Chimbonda at the weekend. You have to make these decisions. Some you get right, some you get wrong but at this minute in time, Trapattoni has won a few games."

Although the decision not to bring Reid in for next week's game has caused widespread surprise, the former Ireland captain suggests far too much is being made of the omission, asking, "What is the big deal? Why are people bemused? The manager has not picked him - he has not picked lots of players. It's the manager's choice, and the manager has got more experience than we will ever dream of.

"The manager has a choice and he (Reid) has not been playing much for me recently. He had an opportunity on Saturday. We know what he is capable of doing.

"He might have a chance tomorrow. In the meantime, I am sure it's grabbed headlines, but I am amazed by the publicity he seems to be getting. My God, people have to get over it."