‘WE WILL FIGHT FOR EVERYTHING NOW’

MARTIN O’NEILL has fired up his Republic of Ireland players for World Cup battle by demanding they ‘fight for every inch’ of ground against Austria next Sunday in Dublin. With his players ‘buzzing’ following the 3-1 win over Uruguay, O’Neill has acknowledged it will count for nothing unless Ireland qualify for Russia. ‘In terms of the team making progress, it’s eventually down to qualification,’ said O’Neill last night. ‘To win [3-1] is nice as we’re not going to destroy teams; that’s no great secret. We’re going to have to fight for every inch, so to get some really great goals was fantastic. ‘We need to score next Sunday, so to get three is a confidence-booster. ‘I think we all felt there was a stronger look about the side on Sunday, and obviously a bit more mature than the side that played Mexico.’ O’Neill reported no withdrawals as Glenn Whelan (back), Jeff Hendrick (foot) and Harry Arter (tight calf) are all fine and will train tomorrow as part of a 28-man squad in Aviva Stadium. Meanwhile, Wales have included five uncapped players in a 23-strong squad for their make-orbreak qualifier away to Serbia on Sunday. CELTIC remained locked in negotiations with Aberdeen late last night as they attempted to finalise their £1million-plusplayer offer for Ireland international Jonny Hayes. Failure to swiftly conclude the transfer could leave the door open for Cardiff City to swoop in and make their move. Discussions between Celtic and Aberdeen have hit a road block in recent days because the Dons want Ryan Christie to return to Pittodrie on a permanent basis while Brendan Rodgers has so far only sanctioned a further one-season loan as part of the deal.