Captain weighs in behind Ireland

Having shown strength of character to turn his own life around, Richard Dunne is sympathetic towards Stephen Ireland and his current circumstances.

As the Cobhman's club captain at Manchester City, he is well placed to shine a light on the darkness in Ireland's eyes.

Clearly Ireland has much weighing on his mind. Troubled and confused, he is adamant the international set-up is not the place to be at this time in his life. And while the problems Dunne addressed were altogether more trivial, he can still offer encouragement for the road ahead.

Dunne kicked a wayward youth into touch and is very much the composed senior figure in an ever-young Irish squad. As a teenager at Everton, he was snared in a boozy Merseyside culture. Too much money, too much time on his hands, too much weight on his person.

He had his troubles at City too but his reinvention as one of the Premiership's finest centre backs is remarkable. The sheer bloody-mindedness of the transformation, both mentally and physically, is a credit to the Dubliner and everything he strives for as he reaches his prime.

"As far as I know, Stephen has a couple of problems in his life," says Dunne. "He feels having 10 days away from home isn't the right thing at the moment. It's disappointing for us because he's been the one scoring the goals lately and he is a very important, very good player."

It is put to Dunne that Ireland is, perhaps, concerned about the reaction he'd receive from players and fans alike following his controversial squad departure ahead of last month's game in Prague. Ireland cited the death of his maternal grandmother, before claiming it was his paternal grandmother and then eventually admitting he lied to be with his partner who had suffered a miscarriage.

"His girlfriend had a miscarriage and no-one is going to take the mickey out of him over something that serious," says Dunne. "We all want to be part of a team that is successful and as a group of players we know that Stephen is a very good player who could make the team better, so if and when he does come back he will be welcome.

"He can definitely come back. I don't know whether that will be this season, I think he is having constant talks with the manager. If things are difficult for Stephen, it's hard for anyone else to tell him what to do. Hopefully something will just click for him and we can move on."

But if Ireland is worried about a reaction would it not be wise to return as soon as possible and meet those issues head on? Dunne agrees.

"If he came and faced everything and just spoke to people then it would be out in the open and he could carry on. My advice to him would be to come back as quickly as he can. The quicker he comes back, the quicker the whole situation is forgotten about. While he's not here people are going to speak about him and it will be 'what if' and 'why not'. So the quicker he comes back the quicker the press will stop writing stories about him and he won't feel so uncomfortable again."

And with that, Dunne parks the issue. There is a game or two to prepare for, after all.

The season to date has been good to him. Sven-Goran Eriksson, his new club manager, has installed inner belief in a high-flying squad cobbled together in a matter of weeks. Often ridiculed during his time with England, something has clicked under the Swede's stewardship and in Dunne, Eriksson has unearthed a confidante.

"I think people make out that the England team is actually better than it really is," says Dunne, whom Eriksson said recently was good enough to play for them. "I don't think that was down to the manager, he has proven himself with his record over the years.

"He seems to keep me involved in a lot of things and I suppose I've been at the club more than anyone in the back line so he probably thinks I have an idea of why things weren't so good and where we can improve."

Of more immediate concern is how the Republic of Ireland can improve. The team is facing into its third successive tournament without qualification and the frustration is etched all over Dunne's face.

"We have given it our best shot - we have not just thrown it away or squandered it, we have been in a tough group and at the moment we just weren't ready to qualify. The big thing now is to try pick up as many points as we can in the next three games to hopefully get a better seeding in the next draw.

"I suppose the fact the two games are at Croke Park is good and everyone wants to play against Germany. And then we all have our reasons for wanting to play against Cyprus on Wednesday."

How would you describe that miserable night in Nicosia, the night of 5-2, the night of your red card?

"Shite".

And as a prematurely cooked campaign draws to a close, that, we presume, is motivation enough.