Irish squad to play Poland

Jeff Hendrick

Giovanni Trapattoni has revealed the Irish squad for the first game of 2013 - a friendly against Poland on the 6th of February. Encouragingly, there are a number of promising young players in tow, with first call-ups for Derby trio Jeff Hendrick, Richard Keogh and Connor Sammon. Hendrick, a central midfielder, came through the youth ranks at Derby, and has been receiving considerable praise this season. His style of play is comparable to that of Glenn Whelan, but seems much more refined and technically adept than the Stoke man was at the same age. Keogh and Sammon fit more of a 'solid Championship pro' template; 26-year-old Keogh is a tough-tackling centre-half with something of a journeyman past - a cult hero at both Carlisle and Coventry, he signed for Derby last summer and has been a fixture in the side this season. LOI product Sammon is a direct, powerful striker, with seven goals for Derby this year. After learning his trade at UCD and Derry City, he made a big impression in the SPL for Kilmarnock, before getting a big move to Wigan in 2010. He managed to rack up thirty-two league appearances, but only scored one goal before dropping down a division last summer. Admittedly, Keogh and Sammon are rather underwhelming selections, given their club status and age profile, but Hendrick is undoubtedly an exciting prospect.

Anthony Pilkington

Anthony Pilkington is the stand-out inclusion; it seems that any passport issues on his part have been overcome, and he is ready to make a long-overdue debut. Encouragingly, Wes Hoolahan keeps his place. Stephen Kelly, Robbie Keane and Keith Andrews are not considered, due to Trapattoni's stated intention to try new players - Kelly may feel aggrieved to miss out, considering that his chances to break back into the Irish starting XI have been relatively few and far-between since his consistent run in 2011. Richard Dunne is included, under the condition that he proves his fitness. It will be a boost for the veteran, after missing the entire season to date - a fully fit Dunne will be badly needed in the coming months. There is also a welcome return for left-back Greg Cunningham, who showed admirable composure in his previous caps, before a series of injuries took their toll. Marc Wilson and Sean St. Ledger remain long-term absentees.

There is a significant glut of strikers in the squad, perhaps suggesting that Trapattoni is not in favour of abandoning the increasingly out-of-date 4-4-2 formation. Another worrying facet is the presence of thirteen Championship players in a 27-man squad, and others (Westwood, Dunne) who have had very little EPL football of late. To put this in perspective, Ireland's squad for the 2008 friendly against Brazil - exactly five years ago - contained 18 English Premier League players in a 21-man squad. However, that's the card Trap has been dealt, though Joey O'Brien (West Ham) and Alex Pearce (Reading) can count themselves unlucky to miss out, especially seeing as O'Dea and McShane are once again retained.

Goalkeepers
Kieran Westwood (Sunderland)

David Forde (Millwall)

Stephen Henderson (West Ham - on loan at Ipswich)

Defenders

John O'Shea (Sunderland)

Ciaran Clark (Aston Villa)

Darren O'Dea (Toronto FC)

Richard Dunne (Aston Villa - standby)

Paul McShane (Hull)

Seamus Coleman (Everton)

Richard Keogh (Derby)

Greg Cunningham (Bristol City)

Stephen Ward (Wolves)

Midfielders

Anthony Pilkington (Norwich)

James McClean (Sunderland)

Robbie Brady (Hull)

Aiden McGeady (Spartak Moscow)

Glenn Whelan (Stoke)

James McCarthy (Wigan)

Jeff Hendrick (Derby)

David Meyler (Hull)

Wes Hoolahan (Norwich)

Forwards

Simon Cox (Nottingham Forest)

Shane Long (WBA)

Jonathan Walters (Stoke)

Conor Sammon (Derby)

Andy Keogh (Millwall)

Kevin Doyle (Wolves)