Republic of Ireland manager Martin O’Neill says he has not made any promises to Donegal man Shay Given about his starting prospects.
Shay Given – back in the Irish squad.
The Aston Villa goalkeeper, 38, retired from international football after Ireland’s Euro 2012 disaster, but now finds himself in contention to start Ireland’s Euro 2016 qualifying campaign after a surprise recall to O’Neill’s 27-man squad.
The squad also contains goalkeepers David Forde, Keiren Westwood and Rob Elliot.
O’Neill said: “He still has that desire to come and play but no promises have been made whatsoever.
“He’s going to come here for a few days. Aston Villa have given him permission to do so and I’ll have a look at it.
“In his own view, he retired at the time, obviously disappointed with the way things had gone at the European Championship. Sometimes you do something and you feel as if maybe you’ve got something left to give.”
The Lifford man, who has 125 international caps, says he knows there are no guarantees.
He said: “There are no guarantees. There are no demands from me. I read somewhere that I demanded to play – that’s all rubbish.
“I am here to try help the group and try to get us qualified. We have some very tough games coming up. Hopefully I can do that.”
But he added “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t think I was sharp enough to play.”
Shay admitted he missed the ‘buzz’ of playing for his country.
He said: “I probably missed it as much as anything, the honour of playing for Ireland and the buzz you get and the privilege of playing for your country.
“You miss that, and you are a long time retired, so you have a long time to look back. It’s about giving it another go and playing a few more games and trying to help the country as best I can.
“I don’t want to have any regrets when I do hang up my boots. That was sort of eating away at me as well.”
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