MICK McCARTHY'S hopes of securing the services of] Sunderland's Craig Russell have been abandoned. After voicing his ambition last month of playing for the Republic of Ireland Russell has now been forced to concede that he is not qualified to do so.
Originally under the impression that one of his grandparents was born in this country, he has since discovered that his Irish roots are a generation further removed. And that is too far to permit him to play under FIFA's ancestry rule
Russell, born in South Shields, has spent his entire senior career with Sunderland and last season filled an important role in the club's successful promotion drive. Although scarcely mature enough at this stage of his career to command a place in McCarthy's senior squad, he fitted the description of a likely lad for the future.
"One of my biggest objectives over the last year has been to add depth to the squad and to that extent it's disappointing to discover that Russell does not, in fact, qualify for us," said McCarthy.
"It's not the first such disappointment we've had, but it will not dissuade me from checking out the credentials of others who believe that they may be eligible to play for Ireland.
"Gradually, we are now getting attractive options in every area of the team and despite the disappointment of the Russell case, the efforts to improve that situation will be on-going."
The news of Russell's club-mate, Niall Quinn, is distinctly upbeat. He is recovering from surgery on damaged cruciate ligaments, the second such operation he has endured in the last three years.
Ten weeks into his rehabilitation from the original operation, he could scarcely walk. Now he is out running and looking forward to the day when he will be cleared to resume full training.
"That's still some way down the road but compared to my experience during the 1993/94 season, I'm delighted the way things are going," he said. "I have now reached the point where I have been cleared to work with the ball in training and while it's still far too early to get involved in practice games, that is real progress.
"The temptation in these situations is to put too much pressure on the joint too soon and risk undoing the good work. That's a pitfall I am determined to avoid but overall, I'm now a lot more optimistic about my chances of getting back into the game before the end of the season.
As of now, the resumption of Ireland's World Cup programme in Macedonia on April 2nd looks like coming too soon for Quinn, but the crucial game against Romania in Bucharest four weeks later may not now be the forlorn prospect it once looked for the Sunderland player.
In the meantime, McCarthy is preparing to go with Tony Cascarino in the target man role in attack, but at this point it is still not clear if the French-based player will be available for the warm-up game against Wales at Cardiff on February 11th.
