Timely friendly will allow O’Neill to hand debuts to Horgan and Boyle

IT IS nearly 20 years since I made my Ireland debut in a World Cup qualifier against Iceland in Reykjavik.

It is fair to say it was not one of my better performances for my country, but of course I will always remember it.

Tuesday’s friendly at home to Iceland will hopefully mean a couple of international debuts among Martin O’Neill’s squad after the dust has settled on the draw with Wales.

Certain people might criticise international friendlies but it certainly helped my development and gave me the confidence to play in an Ireland squad and get used to the players around me.

This is an excellent opportunity for the manager to have a look at players like Daryl Horgan, Andy Boyle, Conor Hourihane and John Egan and give them some game time.

I also think we’ll see Robbie Brady come back into the side after he missed the Wales game through suspension and, after providing the spark when he came on, Aiden McGeady must have a good chance of starting too.

Horgan has taken the form that he showed with Dundalk into his career with Preston and I have been very impressed with him. This will be another step up for him in his development and would cap a great year for him.

Like Seamus Coleman, Stephen Ward, James McClean, Shane Long − the list grows − Horgan has proved there is some great talent in the League of Ireland and he is capable of making the step up to the Championship.

And now an international debut for him and his team-mate Boyle. I wish them all the best.