COMEBACK HOPES

Shay Given has said that if the Republic of Ireland management wants him, he can think of making his comeback to international football.

Given had announced his retirement from international football after Republic of Ireland’s poor performance in the Euro Cup last year. He played a total of 125 matches for his country.

Given hasn’t featured for his club Aston Villa that much in recent times. Since his international retirement, he has played only 9 games for Villa. He is Brad Guzan’s understudy at the club at the moment.

In one of his interviews recently, when Given was asked about the chances of him making an international comeback, he said, “At this point of time, I am not getting playing opportunities even for my club. So, I can’t imagine myself playing at international level.”

“But, if Martin (O’Neill) thinks that I can do a job for the national team, I can think about coming out of my retirement. I would first like to talk to him face to face and then, we will see where it goes.”

“I want to feature regularly for my club. It has really been frustrating to sit on the sidelines for so long.”

When asked about David Forde who is the first choice goalkeeper of the Republic of Ireland national team at the moment, Given said, “He is playing quite well. He is an experienced guy and he knows how to go about his job.”

It has already been made clear by the Aston Villa management that Given will be put on sale during the mid-season transfer window.

Given has so far made a total of 37 appearances for Aston Villa since his arrival in 2011. Out of those 37 appearances, 34 were in his debut season.