Table-topper Stevens ready to grab chance
ENDA STEVENS could find himself in the right place at the right time for the Republic of Ireland tomorrow night. For starters, the regular left-back Stephen Ward is injured and secondly, Stevens is familiar to the demands of playing wingback, if manager Martin O’Neill goes down that road against the Danes. As a plus, he is first choice for Sheffield United, who have climbed to the summit of the Championship with four straight wins. Both he and fellow Blade, central defender John Egan, impressed in the 1-1 draw against Poland in Wroclaw last month — neither could have done more to audition for a Nations League call to arms tomorrow against the Danes. Not that he would dare take his selection for granted. Where the Republic of Ireland are concerned he’s still at the stage to check if he has made the provisional squad. When you’ve been chipping away on the coalface for as long as he has, such caution is understandable, but should the Dubliner continue in the first team at Sheffield, there is no reason why he won’t figure regularly for Ireland too. At 28, he has plenty of time to make a push for involvement in the Euro 2020 and 2022 World Cup qualifications. Having made his competitive debut against Wales as a substitute, where a last-ditch clearance prevented a fifth Welsh goal, Stevens was given 90 minutes against Poland when Ward was ruled out. He hopes to have done enough to give O’Neill something to think about, especially with Ward still injured. ‘I think every position is up for grabs. It’s how you perform,’ he said ‘Wardy is injured at the moment [so] if there is a position up for grabs then I want to play and hopefully I can make it my own.’ If O’Neill goes 3-5-2 or sticks with a flat back four, Stevens won’t mind. ‘I played left back in my whole career and am only playing wing-back in the last two seasons. I know the ins and outs of both positions and I would be comfortable doing both,’ he said. At Sheffield, Stevens has adapted to the wingback role. ‘I enjoy it, it suits me and suits the way that we play. We like to play on the front foot, the wing backs get high up the pitch and we are putting pressure on the opposition.’