Kerr still checking out all options

With three days to go before the Republic of Ireland take the field against Mexico here in Ibadan, Brian Kerr was still assessing his options when his team trained yesterday morning at the Liberty Stadium in the centre of the city.

Blackburn's Damien Duff, the only player in the Irish squad to have been in the same tournament in Malaysia two summers ago, may have spent the morning resting on the sidelines due to a minor hamstring problem, but the Ireland manager clearly saw the absence of one of his stars as a chance to see just where some of his players might slot in, if only for some small portion of next week's three group matches.

With Robbie Keane joined by Millwall striker Richard Sadlier up front, Liam George found himself playing out wide on the right in the practice knockabout, while Shelbourne winger Richie Baker switched flanks to play on the left. Colin Healy got a run in the centre of midfield, although there is some speculation that the Corkborn Celtic player might get an opportunity to start Sunday's game at full back.

That would only be likely to happen if St Patrick's Athletic's left-sided player Keith Doyle was still believed to be suffering the after effects of the heat exhaustion which caused him to come off early in Wednesday's friendly game against South Korea.

Neither Doyle nor team doctor Ronan O'Callaghan seemed to think there was anything to worry about yesterday, however, and on the face of it the back four to start this weekend seem likely to consist of Doyle, Thomas Heary, Jason Gavin, and Gary Doherty.

First-choice goalkeeper Alex O'Reilly of West Ham has clearly shaken off the knee problem that prevented him from training earlier in the week and he looked particularly sharp despite being a day or two behind the rest of the players in terms of acclimatising to the heat.

The past two days have been especially hot here, with temperatures close to 40 degrees, while at night, when the heat is admittedly less of a problem - usually around 30 degrees centigrade - the humidity is likely to make playing almost as tough for the Irish.

To speed their adjustment some of the players were wearing black tracksuit tops - which attract the heat - in training yesterday while a couple were even tearing about in the midday sun in heavy-looking plastic jackets. "It helps us to get used to the conditions," explained one of the masochists, Barry Quinn.

He elaborated on the thinking behind the plan. "It'll be easier when the games come along in the evening and we only have to wear the jerseys."

Quinn reckoned yesterday that the improvement in everybody's ability to cope with the heat was already obvious and pointed to the game against South Korea as evidence of how far he and his team-mates had come in just a couple of days.

"Day by day we're getting stronger and I think even yesterday you could see it in the lads, that they gradually came into the game more and were able to keep going when the Koreans were getting very tired.

"It was just what we needed really. I know they (the South Koreans) just treated the whole thing as bit of a training session, but they closed us down a lot and it gave us a good idea of what it's going to be like when the real thing comes around."

Just how the Irish will fare has been the subject of a fair bit of speculation locally. Much as Kerr would love to keep arriving at tournaments as little-known underdogs, though, the Ireland manager admitted yesterday that the team do now have a reputation which is going to make opponents wary.

"I think you might find that the local people mightn't know too much about us. I mean the Cablelink mightn't be too great out here, particularly in all the areas with the tin roofs, but amongst football people, the ones who have brought teams out here themselves, they know that we finished third in Malaysia two years ago and that we're coming here as the European Champions."

"What they might not know about us is that we come from a country that has one of the smallest populations of any of the countries here, but maybe they'll know a bit more about us by the time we leave."

The Republic's manager admits to having a couple of dilemmas to face over the next couple of days, with the selection of two from Quinn, Duff and Stephen McPhail for the centre of the park looking to be the most taxing. Duff's performances in that position in Malaysia are still seen by Kerr as a major factor in his side doing so well and Kerr might start the Blackburn player there at least some of the time over the course of the tournament, in which case McPhail seems likely to miss out.

Overall, though, all three are expected to play important roles as, almost certainly, will Robbie Keane and Ger Crossley. Of the newcomers to the panel Richie Partridge appears to have the best chance of starting games, particularly if Duff is used inside. Richard Sadlier, who returns after an absence from the panel of almost two years, could well displace Liam George up front.

The tournament organisers, meanwhile, continue to have problems. Anger in the Brazilian camp after delays in the accreditation procedures resulted in them missing their internal flight to Calabar. Of more immediate concern to Nigeria '99 bosses, though, might be a warning from the head of state, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, that the tournament, which kicks off in Lagos tomorrow, had better to be a success.

General Abubakar remarked, rather ominously, that "of those to whom much has beeen given, much is also expected". The head of the local organising committee, retired colonel Abdulmumini Aminu replied, rather rashly perhaps, that not only is Nigeria ready to successfully host the competition but they are set to win the trophy.

Nigeria take on Costa Rica in the opening game (live on Eurosport) and if they lose Colonel Aminu might actually be audible, even above the fanatical local supporters, cheering the hosts on in their other group games against Germany and Paraguay.