Time running out for injured trio to make Holland game

Mick McCarthy looks set to rule Kenny Cunningham, Gary Breen and Steve Carr out of his plans over the weekend for the Holland game , with the Republic of Ireland admitting yesterday that, "realistically, they would have to play for their clubs on Saturday if they are to have a serious chance of being right for such a big game".

Carr and Cunningham have both ruled themselves out of action for at least another week with knee and stomach problems, respectively, while Breen, still recovering from a hernia operation, is not expected to return for at least another seven days either.

While none of the players has yet admitted defeat in the attempt to be fit for September 1st, Cunningham acknowledged yesterday it was difficult to see him figuring in the game.

"I'm doing a lot of intensive work at the moment but I'm still not in full training with the rest of the lads and I can't expect to get a game for the club until I've been back with them for a week or two.

"Next week I could be flying and I'll see how I am whenever Mick checks in with me but the way the other lads he has in there at the moment are playing I can't imagine him being too put out."

The Ireland manager said after Wednesday night's draw that all three needed games and while he insisted yesterday he was not attempting to impose deadlines he is unlikely to name them in his squad next week unless certain they are fit enough to play some part.

That line is made a great deal more sustainable by the fine showings on Wednesday of Steve Staunton, who had his best international game in several years, and Richard Dunne, who played as well as in any of his previous 10 appearances.

"I thought they were both great and I didn't take Richard off for any other reason than the fact I wanted to give as many people as possible a half," said McCarthy.

Kevin Kilbane did enough in the half he played to mark himself out as the front-runner for the number 11 shirt but with Gary Kelly almost certainly required to play at right back the right side of midfield position looks to be genuinely up for grabs, with Steve Finnan, or even Mark Kennedy in contention.

Jason McAteer, whose performance this week will have gone some way towards rehabilitating him after his miserable showing in Cyprus before the summer, is also in with a shout. Finnan is surely the strongest option at this stage but McCarthy's high regard for Kennedy should never be underestimated.

The Ireland boss remains confident, meanwhile, that both Matt Holland and Niall Quinn will be back after missing this week's trip to Dublin with minor knocks.

If he is fit, Quinn will almost certainly figure up front, although the manager sounds increasingly sure that his new strike partnership is capable of taking on world class opponents like the Dutch.

"They're excellent," he says. "They're two mates and a great pairing. To be honest, I'd have no qualms at all about putting them in for the game but I've said before that I'll look to my experienced lads for the Holland match and nothing's changed on that front."

Connolly, too, was impressive, aside of course from the badly misdirected shot in the 72nd minute that should have yielded his eighth international goal.

Yet Clinton Morrison's ability to consistently hold the ball up and bring others around him into the game may just be enough to earn the 22-year-old a place in the squad for next month's game. Certainly, he looked undaunted by the occasion this week, standing out even as the Irish team around him started to lose its momentum as the multiple substitutions had their inevitable effect.

Morrison is not the first striker to make an immediate impact for the Republic. Connolly, David Kelly and Tommy Coyne all started spectacularly before struggling to deliver on their initial promise.

Wednesday's performance might indicate his return to England is having a beneficial effect on Connolly's game after the constant turmoil in Holland but Morrison's rather different attributes suggest that, if Quinn is injured, he could make a useful addition to the bench.

McCarthy was guarded about whether Morrison would figure next month but did make it clear the player still had a vast amount of learning to do. "He's not a senior international footballer yet because he doesn't have the experience to be one.

"Neither are Stephen McPhail or Andy O'Brien and you can't just rush them into the team but I'll have to sit down over the next week and figure out what I have available to me before I decide exactly what to do with him next."

Another thing McCarthy intends to do over the next couple of days is to watch a tape of Holland's win over England, although yesterday he was dismissive of the game's significance. "I think England ended up fielding a weakened side, they made a lot of changes, so I wouldn't read a whole lot into it."

The quality of some of the Dutch play will still be of some concern to McCarthy, who knows that, well as Dunne and Staunton may have performed on Wednesday, the pair are prone to off-days also.

If either has one on Saturday fortnight then there is little chance Louis van Gaal's side will be contained any more effectively than they were at White Hart Lane this week.