FRIENDLY INTERNATIONAL PREVIEWS
Northern Ireland boss Lawrie Sanchez is hoping to build on the country's confidence-boosting win against Estonia last month - their first for 16 internationals - and he has decided Birmingham goalkeeper Maik Taylor is again the man to lead the Irish against Serbia and Montenegro tonight.
Sanchez confirmed that Taylor would continue to lead the side following the excellent job he did in Estonia, and the Blues stopper said: "It's obviously a great honour for me to carry on as captain. It's also particularly pleasing to lead the side out at Windsor Park."
But whilst Taylor is the man in the driving seat, as far as the number one position is concerned, Manchester United keeper Roy Carroll is determined to push him all the way. "Maik has been in brilliant form for Northern Ireland over the past couple of years," said Carroll, who looks certain to win his 14th cap at some stage this evening.
"I would have loved to get a start on Wednesday, particularly in Belfast. 'Anyone who knows me is aware how much playing for Northern Ireland means to me. I would relish the opportunity in front of the Windsor Park fans."
This is very much a transitional period for the Irish under Sanchez, but the early signs are promising and Norwich midfielder Paul McVeigh is excited about Irish prospects of again making their mark on the international stage.
"This is a very young squad and experience is limited but the manager is building a team for the future," said McVeigh. "We can all gain more experience over the next couple of games and hopefully we will be in good shape for the World Cup qualifiers."
Just as Sanchez has injury problems to contend with, Republic of Ireland boss Brian Kerr has also been robbed of a number of key players with star striker Robbie Keane joining namesake Roy on the casualty list.
The Spurs star is out of the friendly against Poland after suffering concussion in Sunday's derby draw with Arsenal. In addition to the two Keanes, Kerr has also been deprived of the services of Damien Duff, Gary Breen, Matt Holland, Jason McAteer and David Connolly.
The absence of those key players has forced Kerr to call upon some fresh faces with Shelbourne striker Jason Byrne, as well as Coventry duo Graham Barrett and Michael Doyle, now added to the squad.
Kerr said: "I expect to use a lot more players in this game than in recent friendlies because there were a lot of tough games at the weekend for so many of our players."
