Staunton to call on youth to excite

SOCCER: For Ireland's last two managers "going Dutch" has been a rather enjoyable experience. Mick McCarthy enjoyed his finest hour against the Netherlands in September 2001, and Brian Kerr oversaw a memorable defeat of the twice World Cup finalists nearly three years later in Amsterdam.

But with Damien Duff having become the latest Irish player to cry off, with a groin strain, ahead of this evening's 19th encounter between the countries, Manager Steve Staunton could be forgiven for wishing that the visiting half of tonight's Lansdowne double bill was just a little more run of the mill.

For a game arranged to provide his side with a final test before the commencement of the European Championship campaign, Staunton is now without up to half a dozen of the players he might be expected to start with in Germany. Predictably, he sought to look on the bright side yesterday, emphasising the opportunity the game would now afford some of his younger players to "stake their claim".

Privately, though, he must be deeply disappointed at the extent of the disruption to his preparations over the past few days and dismayed at the prospect that even half of those laid up might still be unavailable when it comes to naming a team for his first competitive game in a couple of weeks' time.

Taken aback, perhaps, by the scale of the losses on this occasion, Staunton deferred naming his starting line-up until today. Pressed on his intended selection when he addressed the media for the first time since being accosted by a man wielding an imitation machine gun on Monday evening, he revealed only that John O'Shea would play in central defence and Steven Reid would captain the side. These were, in the circumstances, two of the less taxing issues he has had to deal with over the past 48 hours or so.

Ahead of his chance to weigh up his options for the qualifiers to come, Staunton is in a position to start with just three of the 13 players that featured in Amsterdam when the Irish beat the Netherlands two years ago and four of the side Kerr considered to be his strongest available when the Swiss came to town only last October.

There may be little harm in Paddy Kenny getting another international game under his belt but it is hard to see how Staunton can take the somewhat makeshift look off the outfield, particularly the attack, where Robbie Keane, Duff and Andy Reid could all be expected to be influential figures were they available.

As the rain poured down at Lansdowne Road at lunchtime yesterday, Staunton was quick to point out that he may be no better fixed for the game on September 2nd, and so he will hope to see some of the younger players show their willingness and ability to make a mark at this level.

With the need to provide a solid foundation in defence a priority, one suspects, it may be farther up the field that vacancies arise for the relative newcomers. And so Aiden McGeady, Stephen Elliott and Kevin Doyle all look well place to add to their meagre store of international caps.

Doyle has yet to play competitively this season while Clinton Morrison continues to work toward full fitness after struggling to recover from injury during the summer months, and so Elliott looks particularly well placed to bag a starting place. Staunton, though, spoke highly of Daryl Murphy yesterday, and having clearly flagged that there will be significant changes for the later part of the game, he seems intent on at least salvaging something from an unpromising situation by handing some of his youngsters a challenge worth rising to.

In the heart of what Staunton has confirmed will be a slight variation on a 4-4-2 formation for the foreseeable future, Steven Reid gets the opportunity to take on the challenge of the captaincy, and after his fine year at Blackburn the decision to hand the 25-year-old midfielder the captain's armband looks a sound one in the absence of Keane.

"He's matured a great deal as a player and as a person in the last year," said Staunton of his new skipper, "and I think the added responsibility will help to bring him on." Reid himself, having only just heard the news, still seemed pleasantly bemused by his elevation but, he said, "it's already changed my mindset a bit and hopefully it will bring out the best in me while I help to bring out the best in others."

Alongside him in midfield, Graham Kavanagh looks to have a strong case for starting while McGeady could be included from the outset at this level for the first time. Liam Miller and Jonathan Douglas will hope to get a look in too, though Staunton's decision on which one of three possible positions he assigns to Kevin Kilbane will have a significant knock-on effect for others.

With so many established stars having departed the Dutch camp in recent times, the precise strength of the visiting team is hard to gauge. But it's worth remembering that, unlike Staunton, Marco van Basten has chosen to cut the likes of Edgar Davids, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Mark van Bommel loose.

At a time when he needs to convince the Dutch public there is better to come from his side than the rugged approach that failed against Portugal at the World Cup, these are, one presumes, decisions the former international has not taken lightly. Van Basten's side, one suspects, will come looking to play a more attacking game than the one that let them down last time out, and with Staunton yesterday reaffirming his intention that the Irish get the ball forward quickly, "but in the right way", it could be, conditions permitting, an open and attractive encounter.

The extent of its importance as a dry run for Stuttgart, though, we will only know when the Ireland manager next sits down to weigh up his options in a fortnight's time.