SHAY GIVEN returned to an uncertain future at Blackburn Rovers yesterday after being surprisingly dropped from the Republic of Ireland team which beat the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia on Wednesday.

Given, currently employed on a match to match basis as understudy to Tim Flowers at Blackburn, was told only an hour before the kick off that he was out of the team after playing in eight of the previous nine games.

Instead, Mick McCarthy recalled Alan Kelly for his first international appearance since the European Championship play off against Holland at Anfield last December and was suitably vindicated as he watched his team achieve a wholly gratifying 3-0 win.

Later, the manager would explain that it was Given's lack of first team football at club level which influenced one of the most difficult decisions of his Ireland career to date.

"My feelings on the need for players to be involved in first team football on a regular basis are well known and, in that situation, I had to go for Alan in this game," he said. "That is not to understate the ability of young Given or the contribution he has made to the team since he first came into it last March.

"I don't imagine he was particularly happy when I told him he was not playing on Wednesday. He could live with the prospect of life with the reserves at Blackburn as long as he was first choice in the national side. Now, that situation has changed and he has to take account of it. It's not for me to tell him what to do at his club but clearly he has some hard decisions to make."

After going on loan to Sunderland last season and making a significant contribution to their championship success, the 20 year old Donegal man was the subject of two unsuccessful bids by the Roker Park manager. Peter Reid.

Later Celtic, the club which unloaded him two years ago, expressed a renewed interest bout in each instance, the player rejected the chance of a move, presumably on the premise that he can eventually displace Flowers at Ewood Park. Now one suspects that the goalposts have been shifted slightly in the wake of Wednesday's decision.

On Kelly's contribution to Ireland's best performance in more than a year, McCarthy said: "The test of any goalkeeper is if he can keep his concentration, even when he is not being overworked.

"Alan would be the first to admit that he didn't have a lot to do but he earned his keep with those two excellent saves, one just before half time, the other approaching the finish."

For Kelly, forced to surrender his place through injury for the game against Russia in March and then made to sit on the bench as his younger rival grew in stature with each consecutive appearance, it was a welcome change of fortune.

"One man's misfortune is another's gain and just as Shay benefited when I got injured in training last March, I have now profited from his problems," he said. "But there is a special bond between goalkeepers - we always room together - and just as I cheered for Shay when he played, I hope I now enjoy his goodwill."

There were cheers also for Paul McGrath yesterday after it was confirmed that he had joined newly promoted Derby County from Aston Villa for an undisclosed fee. McGrath will stay with Derby until the end of the season when his situation will be re evaluated and within hours of arriving at the Baseball Ground, he learned that he was in the team to face Newcastle United tomorrow.

The move has important implications for Mick McCarthy who is on record as saying that he will look again at McGrath's international career, once the defender is playing again.

"That was obviously one of the big reasons why I pushed for a move from Villa," said McGrath. "I had no wish to rock the boat at the club but in the end I was left with no option but to put in a transfer request. I may be getting close to the end of my career but not to the point where I cannot stretch it out for another year or two."

Even if some would seek to devalue the merit of the performance on the basis of Macedonia's second half collapse, there was much to admire in this latest victory, achieved with a poise and professionalism which augurs well for the future.

The first goal, a thing of beauty, embodied much of McCarthy's philosophy on the new way of playing and the third, superbly executed by Tony Cascarino, was attributable, in the first instance, to the vastly improved quality of the crossing.

There were occasions undeniably, when the build up was too lateral, notably in the second quarter, and this is a segment of the performance which will be studied closely in the approach to the next assignment, against Iceland at Lansdowne Road on November 10th.

It was only when Jason McAteer, in quite the best international performance of his career, began to run directly at the visiting defence, that the game opened up for the Irish in the second half, a point suitably taken by McCarthy.

"I thought Jason McAteer's overall contribution was immense and apart from everything else, it's given me some exciting options for the remainder of the qualifying series," he said.

McAteer's goal was his first in 19 Ireland games and yesterday he explained what he meant when he dedicated it to a "special missing person," in a post match interview.

"The person in question is Gary Kelly," he said. "Gary, Phil Babb and myself have a special relationship and it was a shock when he went out of the squad."