Giovanni Trapattoni will not chase retired trio Stephen Ireland, Andy O'Brien and Steve Finnan as he attempts to persuade them to return to the international stage.

The new Republic of Ireland boss met the three men in Manchester two weeks ago and has spoken to them again since.

However, the ball is now in their court as he awaits answers.

"I saw them two weeks ago - my door is open for them," Trapattoni said.

"I called one week ago and I said, 'Now you know my number'. Now I wait. We will go and see them when they play, but we have to look ahead.

"At the moment we have a good squad, and when they want to come back, they know we have good players. They will have to earn their place in the team."

Asked if he is confident over any of the three returning to the fold, as 37-year-old keeper Dean Kiely has done so successfully over the last fortnight, Trapattoni said: "The young, today the wind is like this, tomorrow the wind is like this.

"I spoke with Steve Finnan and I am sure he is okay. He is a man, he is not an old player.

"My feeling is that one or two said to me, 'At the moment, no because I have a problem, but in the future, there is a possibility I will come back'. My feeling is that."

Trapattoni sent his players off after last night's 1-0 victory over Colombia at Craven Cottage satisfied with their fortnight's work, but with specific individual instructions over what each of them needs to improve upon before they return for the friendly with Norway in August.

He said: "I wish I had more time with the team. We made a step forward over the last two weeks, but I would be great to have more tests like Serbia and Colombia and more opportunity to monitor the performance.

"I am happy that the players can go on holiday with a positive result behind them. I hope the players will come back after the summer with the same enthusiasm.

"But while I am happy, I am also sad to leave the team. We have done good work, but we still have a lot more to do because the qualification will be very difficult.

"It will be a new season and a new time. I said to the players, 'Come back with the same enthusiasm and a good performance because we start a very important season'."

Trapattoni's dream is to lead his side to the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa, a target he believes is eminently achievable.

Asked if this would be his last job in football, the 69-year-old added: "I would love to finish with Ireland qualifying for the World Cup. That would be extremely important. But I will decide after we qualify - if we qualify - after South Africa."