MICK McCARTHY was last night attempting to locate Phil Babb with an offer he could scarcely refuse to join the Republic of Ireland World Cup squad in Rumania next week.
In a surprising development, occasioned in the first instance by Curtis Fleming's withdrawal, McCarthy said that there may be a role for Babb for the first time since the game against the Czech Republic 12 months ago.
Babb has failed in recent times to get his place in the Liverpool starting XI. His call-up in these circumstances is another sign that the international career of Paul McGrath has come to an end.
It also suggests that 17-year-old Everton player Richard Dunne could be on his way back to Liverpool tomorrow evening when the squad will have completed the first phase of its preparations.
The purpose in selecting Richard was to bring him over and look at him and enable him to get to know the other players," McCarthy said. "I haven't made up my mind whether he'll be coming to Bucharest."
The outlook is a lot more optimistic for Babb, a regular in the team during Jack Charlton's last two years in charge, but curiously redundant since winning the last of his 20 caps in Prague.
In that period, his stock has plummeted sharply, but as the Ireland manager sees it that is, primarily, a result of the role he is assigned in Liverpool's back three. "He was a very good defender playing alongside Paul McGrath in the World Cup in America but he's always looked a better player when doing a direct job. At Liverpool he's expected to get on the ball and pass it and he never looks quite as comfortable doing that."
Ken Cunningham, the Wimbledon defender who damaged his back in the game against Chelsea in midweek, yesterday assured McCarthy that he would be fit to travel, but Andy Townsend, another casualty from Tuesday's Premiership programme, is still recuperating from a leg injury.
Choosing to stay in Birmingham for treatment by Aston Villa's medical team, Townsend is not due to arrive in Dublin until tomorrow evening. However, at this point, there appears to be little doubt that he will be available.
Thinking aloud at his press conference yesterday, McCarthy hinted that he may take a leaf out of his predecessor's book and deploy a sweeper in front of the back four. Not surprisingly, perhaps the man being earmarked for the job is Roy Keane who filled a similar role, not always successfully for Charlton.
There could be a big part, too, for Mark Kennedy who, at the end of a difficult season, is coming back into favour at club and international level. Kennedy was introduced as a replacement for Patrik Berger in the last quarter of Liverpool's Cup Winners' Cup game against Paris St Germain and has now emerged as a likely candidate to start his first competitive game for Ireland since the 3-0 European Championship defeat by Portugal in Lisbon.
"Romania look exceptionally strong through the centre and it may be easier to get at them down the flanks," said McCarthy. "Obviously, one of the players capable of doing this job for us down the left is Mark Kennedy. He's still an emerging player, but he has scored some fine goals for us at under-21 level this season."
Niall Quinn will not be joining the squad because, in the manager's words, he's "not right". Confirming that he had made contact with the Sunderland player, he said that Quinn probably felt disappointed but that "every player in that situation would have similar feelings".
