Not quite as encouraging as it seems

Away from home: Mary Hannigan takes a look at the various fortunes of Irish players playing in the Premiership and the options they offer Brian Kerr

On the face of it the statistics look good from Brian Kerr's point of view: 46 Republic of Ireland-qualified players given first-team squad numbers in the English Premiership for the new season. Break it down, though, and it's not quite as encouraging as it seems. Four of those players are no longer available for selection - Roy Keane, Denis Irwin, Alan Kelly and Dean Kiely - and 18 more have yet to be capped at senior level, generally young players attempting to make the breakthrough at their clubs.

That, though, still leaves Kerr with 24 already-capped players competing at Premiership level this season, which, allied to his first-division options (among them the Sunderland contingent of Colin Healy, Kevin Kilbane, Jason McAteer and Gary Breen), should still make his forthcoming squad selections pleasantly tricky.

Four of that 24, Paul Butler, Mark Kennedy (both Wolves), Matt Holland (Charlton) and Steven Reid (Blackburn), move up from first-division football this season, the first two through promotion with their clubs (although memories of Butler's debut against the Czech Republic in 2000 make it unlikely he'll be doubling his caps tally of one any day soon), the second pair through summer transfers.

Three more could do with an early-season morale boost after being mentioned in summer dispatches with moves to "lesser" clubs - Gary Doherty (Spurs to Cardiff), Lee Carsley (Everton to Fulham), Ian Harte (Leeds to Portsmouth) - while Richard Dunne, Gareth Farrelly, Alan Mahon, Stephen McPhail and Mark Kinsella will all desperately hope for an upturn in their fortunes after less-than-encouraging club campaigns last season.

Reid, Holland, Steve Finnan and Damien Duff will feel varying degrees of pressure after their summer transfers, although judging by Duff's display against Zilina on Wednesday, it's business as usual.

Clinton Morrison, too, has plenty to prove - "must do better" was his end-of-term report after seven goals in 30 appearances for Birmingham City last season. Andy O'Brien will battle it out for the right to partner Jonathan Woodgate at the centre of Newcastle's defence this year - if he doesn't succeed he will continue to struggle to dislodge Gary Breen and Kenny Cunningham from the heart of Kerr's back four, with John O'Shea likely to present the Irish manager with another "central" option, should Finnan and Stephen Carr fill the full-back roles.

According to most "across-the-water" reports Carr has been Newcastle-bound all summer, but he remains at Spurs, where they are painfully aware that he has just a year left on his contract. Options? Move now, accept a new deal, or wait till January when he can (legally) have a chat with interested parties.

With Nick Colgan on loan at Stockport County and Joe Murphy still on the bench for relegated West Brom, Shay Given has no serious rival for the Irish goalkeeping shirt.

Gary Kelly and Rory Delap need more-than-decent seasons if they are to work their way back into Kerr's thoughts, but short of an injury crisis, Jeff Kenna's international days are probably over. The last of the 24? Robbie Keane. He'll be alright.

Of the "on the verge of a breakthrough" Premiership brigade, Spurs defender Stephen Kelly looks to be one of the brighter sparks, while Manchester United's Paul Tierney will hope that injuries to Wes Brown and Gary Neville will give him his first-team chance, rather than being shipped out on loan again.

Meanwhile, Richie Partridge still dreams of the day that Gerard Houllier decides he's worth a shout.