NEWS:FOR ALL the talk of Roy Keane's inability to resist an Irish player with a For Sale sign around his neck, the Corkman started just two of his compatriots against Liverpool on Saturday and one of them, Daryl Murphy, may struggle to hold his place if Benni McCarthy finally arrives from Blackburn over the next couple of weeks.
Andy Reid, at least, looks to be a fixture in the side and on Saturday the Dubliner skippered Sunderland through a game in which Liverpool were bettered in the first half and frustrated through most of the second until two of Rafael Benitez's countrymen produced a moment of class.
The late goal was a blow to a club where hopes are high that last season's skirmish with relegation can be avoided, but Reid travelled to Norway yesterday still upbeat about his side's prospects.
"We played some really good stuff and were the better side in the first half," he says. "They're a quality team with some quality players and we knew at certain points in the game they'd be strong, which they were. But I thought we defended magnificently as a team.
"The only chance they got was the goal they scored when we backed off a little too much. You learn from your mistakes and if we put in those kind of performances against other teams we'll get our just rewards, because you don't play against the likes of Torres, Keane, Gerrard and Alonso every week."
Sunderland, in fact, face Tottenham next Saturday when points rather than pluckiness will be the measure of success, but Reid believes Keane's signings will not only add quality and experience to a squad that lacked both last year but also help to bring on the players who are already there.
"It's never nice to lose but I enjoyed playing with our new signings . . . seeing how I've progressed and the lads who were at the club last season. That's what the manager has said. He doesn't want anyone getting left behind as the club progresses."
The hope is there will be signs things are moving in the right direction with the Republic of Ireland, too, tomorrow night here in Oslo, although the former Tottenham and Charlton midfielder cautions against expecting too much too soon.
Having spent June watching the European Championship at which he was surprised by the failure of the Italians to really get going, he is anxious Ireland mount a serious challenge for a place at the World Cup, but concerned young players might suffer if expectations begin to get out of control again.
He is pleased, though, that after a couple of years during which a string of high-profile players, himself included, suffered injury problems, almost everyone is available at present. And the 26-year-old looks happy, in particular, at the prospect of playing alongside his roommate on these trips, Steven Reid.
"I think so," he says with a smile when asked if the pair have the makings of a natural central midfield partnership. "We both have different attributes and I think we could possibly work together. Let him do all the running," he says mischievously, "and I'll do the playing."
Sadly his namesake isn't available to provide his view on the suggested division of labour, but we may get to see how it works out tomorrow night.
