COME BACK NOW, DARYL

DARYL MURPHY ‘owes it’ to Mick Mccarthy to answer an international SOS call, according to Keith Andrews.

Murphy, 35, retired from Republic of Ireland duty a year ago after scoring three times in 33 appearances.

As it happens, the striker is set to renew acquaintances with ex-ireland manager Martin O’neill as he is poised But nor were English observers following the Irish team’s fortunes with a forensic eye from game to game.

“There would have been a lot of sympathy for Martin in England and the line of ‘we simply haven’t got the players’,” said Andrews.

“I’ve constantly fought that battle with people I work with in England because I don’t go along with it.

“We’re better than what we showed and I‘d put the blame for that firmly at the feet of the management team rather than the players.”

O’neill was stung by the criticism levelled at him since the FAI pulled the trigger in November.

And ex-irish international to land the Nottingham Forest job.

New Ireland boss Mick Mccarthy managed Murphy at Sunderland and Ipswich Town and asked him on Friday to come out of retirement.

And Andrews feels the Waterford man still has something to offer the Irish team heading into the key Euro 2020 campaign. Andrews reckons that will be all the motivation O’neill needs as he returns to club management.

“It’s a great opportunity,” he said. “It’s a seriously talented squad which should be in the play-offs and they’re in striking distance.

“The club is one of the sleeping giants in that division. But I’m surprised that a foreign owner (Greek businessman, Evangelos Marinakis) has chosen to go down this route.

“Martin would be a traditional type of manager who wants to know exactly who the signings are and wants this and wants that.

“I don’t think he would relish an owner or a chief executive getting involved in team selection.”

Keith Andrews and Irish international Megan Campbell launched the SPAR FAI Primary School 5s Programme. See www. fai. ie/primary5 for more

“Without a doubt. It’s short term. What are we looking at, March to November?

“He hasn’t played a lot of football at Forest and he looks after himself very, very well. His new club manager might have something to say about it!

“But in terms of that type of physical presence which we know Mick likes, we haven’t got a lot really.”