Kerr remains cautious on Reid's role

Soccer/Euro 2004 Qualifiers: Brian Kerr's selection options improved fractionally yesterday when Steven Reid did enough in the behind-closed-doors practice game between the Irish senior and under-21 teams to suggest he is capable of taking some part in Saturday's European Championship qualifier against Albania. Emmet Malone, Soccer Correspondent

The Millwall midfielder hasn't played for Kerr since coming off with 13 minutes remaining against Scotland in February. The manager's remarks after yesterday's session to the effect that the 22-year-old's ability to get through a full game was still doubtful suggested he can hope for no more than a place on the bench. But given the problems he has had over the past few months, even that would be regarded as a bit of a result for both men.

"Steven was fit enough to start today but whether he's got the stamina to play 90 minutes on Saturday is another thing - we'll have to wait and see," said Kerr. "I'm glad he played today, though. He hadn't played a game for about eight weeks and that will have done him some good."

Reid even managed a goal in the run-out, while Damien Duff, who apparently played on the left wing, and Robbie Keane scored the remainder in a 3-1 victory. Liam Miller contributed the game's other goal with his free-kick taking a deflection off Kevin Kilbane on the way towards goal.

The other main injury doubt for Saturday's match, Shay Given, was rested yesterday, but Kerr insisted once again he expects the goalkeeper to be fit enough to start at the weekend.

"He didn't play but he trained without any problems. He had a good workout with Packie and I'm sure he'll be fine," he said.

With Steve Finnan and Gary Kelly missing from the squad, Kerr took the opportunity to play Matt Holland at right back, where there is now less obvious cover on offer than is usually the case for Steve Carr.

Holland appears to have come through the test without any problems, although he could be forgiven for having some difficulty in keeping his mind on the Republic's preparations after his club, Ipswich Town, again agreed a fee for the 29-year-old midfielder.

Last August, Holland was the subject of a #4 million offer from Aston Villa, a figure hard-up Ipswich eagerly accepted, only for the player to refuse the personal terms suggested by the Birmingham club. This time, newly-promoted Portsmouth have valued the player at just #750,000, but so desperate is his club to save on his wages the figure has again been agreed.

Whether Holland will be any more willing to uproot his family this time around is doubtful, however. Both he and his agent made it clear last time that a rival offer would have to be substantially better than his current deal if he was to be enticed away from Portman Road where, he has repeatedly said, he is happy to simply see out his contract.

Yesterday Ipswich chairman David Sheepshanks said the departure of Holland would be a "huge loss", but he also observed that the player's wages are "simply unaffordable in the first division". Primarily, though, he expressed considerable disappointment over the fee for a player the club regard as one of its more attractive assets.

"The state of the transfer market is such that while there is interest in a player of Matt's pedigree, the very best fee we have been able to obtain is #750,000 from Portsmouth," he said

There is little attempt to hide the fact that the club have been hawking the player around to other clubs in an increasingly desperate attempt to offload him.

When asked about the situation (Holland had declined to talk with the press), Kerr said it would, of course, be preferable if the midfielder played in the Premiership next year. But he added: "The bottom line is that every one of the players will be judged on what they do here with us, not where they are playing between internationals".

Holland is far from the only member of Kerr's squad right now to find himself the subject of transfer speculation. Stephen McPhail, who picked up another minor knock in yesterday's game, Duff, Carr and Reid have all been mentioned in connection with possible moves, while the likes of Gary Breen, Nicky Colgan and Colin Healy are all either out of contract or available on free transfers despite having time left on their current contracts.

At Sunderland, Kevin Kilbane admits, everybody is pretty much up for grabs. But the winger, who was one of only two players yesterday to play more than one half (the other was Richard Dunne), insists that despite reports linking him with Everton he has yet to hear of any concrete approaches from other clubs for his services next year.

"Mick's (McCarthy) said that he'll tell us as soon as he hears anything, but beyond that I don't really know what's going on right now," he said. "I thought I had a decent enough season myself but obviously that's not been reflected in the team's results and that's what mattered. In the absence of something else happening I'm just working on the basis that I'll be back at Sunderland for pre-season training and hoping to ensure that we can go straight back up again."

A number of the more peripheral players at the club have already been released by McCarthy, but a board meeting due to take place during the next week is expected to decide on the budgets for next year and it is only in its aftermath that the scale of the clearout required at the Stadium of Light will finally become apparent.