McCarthy calls up Holland

Matt Holland of Ipswich Town was yesterday offered the prospect of winning a second cap for the Republic of Ireland after being summoned by Mick McCarthy to the squad for next Wednesday's meeting with the Czech Republic at Lansdowne Road.

Holland gets the call-up due to the withdrawal of Blackburn midfielder Damien Duff, who is expected to be out for a week with a virus.

The Ipswich player played for the last six minutes against Macedonia in Skopje last October as a replacement for Mark Kennedy.

The squad is due to assemble in Dublin tomorrow morning and will later attend the Opel/FAI banquet at the Burlington Hotel where the Player of the Year awards will be announced. The three short-listed candidates for the senior award are Robbie Keane, Alan Kelly and Mark Kinsella.

Barry Ferguson of Coventry City has been added to the under-21 squad for the game against the Czech Republic at Belfield next Tuesday. Ferguson, who has already made one appearance at this level, gets his chance following the withdrawal of Jason Gavin (Middlesbrough) and Barry McGovern (Arsenal).

Argentina striker Claudio Lopez is coach Marcelo Bielsa's main worry ahead of next Wednesday's friendly against England at Wembley.

Bielsa has lost Lazio defender Matias Almeyda to injury but has included Lopez in his 18-man squad even though the Valencia star has a serious throat infection. His only other strikers are Gabriel Batistuta of Fiorentina and Hernan Crespo of Parma.

Argentina are set to field 10 of the team that started when beating England in the 1998 World Cup on penalties. Playmaker Marcelo Gallardo of Monaco is also unavailable through injury.

Newcastle boss Bobby Robson was handed the perfect 67th birthday present yesterday when he was given a new contract with the club. Robson has signed a rolling 12-month contract with no expiry date which effectively means he could be at the helm well into his '70s.

The news was the perfect boost to his side's preparations for tomorrow's FA Cup quarter-final trip to first division Tranmere Rovers and just reward for the massive turn-around he has inspired since taking over from Ruud Gullit in September.

Tranmere face the Premiership's most in-form striking double act of Alan Shearer and Duncan Ferguson and manager John Aldridge rates them as the best around.

Aldridge also has defensive problems at the wrong time, with Clint Hill out injured for a couple of weeks. But Steve Yates is back in the squad. Republic of Ireland under-21 midfielder Alan Mahon is Tranmere's main worry and he is considered only 50-50 to play. Tranmere also want to wipe away the memory of losing to Newcastle in cup ties in both of the previous two seasons.