MARY HANNIGANfinds the veteran as enthusiastic as ever and hoping to get the nod at left back for his 65th consecutive competitive international

THE LAST Republic of Ireland starting line-up for a competitive game that didn’t feature the name of Kevin Kilbane was back in the dim and distant past of October 1999. Should Giovanni Trapattoni decide to end the player’s remarkable run on Saturday there would be a certain symmetry to it all. The opponents in that 1999 game were Macedonia, as they are again in Dublin in two days’ time.

With Kevin Foley set to start his first competitive game for his country, replacing the injured John O’Shea at right back, the odds might still be in favour of Kilbane being selected at left back for his 65th consecutive competitive international.

The assumption, though, that the manager might be reluctant to opt for a second full back inexperienced at this level was somewhat dispelled earlier in the week by Trapattoni himself when he pointed to the number of games Ciarán Clark has played for Aston Villa this season (24 in all, 18 in the Premier League).

Despite having made his Ireland debut only last month, against Wales, the 21-year-old would, then, appear to be pushing Kilbane, 13 years his senior, hard for that left back slot.

And desperate as he is to win his 109th cap on Saturday, Kilbane showed no reluctance in talking up the young pretender’s credentials.

“He has been outstanding for Aston Villa, he’s playing in the top flight, so of course he’s going to be considered,” he said.

“He’s a strong candidate – definitely. He seems to be very, very calm, very collected in himself, nice and modest too.

“It looks like he has a big future, although we always say that about young players, don’t we? We build them up – and you can put the kiss of death on them. But if he can carry on the way he is then I think he’ll be okay.

“He’s chomping at the bit, really, and I think he’ll be a regular for us for years, but then you’ll have the likes of Greg (Cunningham) coming back into the equation too.

“There’s always somebody else who is emerging, that’s just the nature of the game.”

Kilbane, now playing in the third tier of English football with Huddersfield (currently second in League One), where he is on loan from Hull City, was left out of the squad for the game against Wales, but was assured he would be recalled for the Euro 2012 qualifier against Macedonia.

“I had a text from him (Trapattoni). Basically, it was to say he was playing other players and I wasn’t needed for the friendly, but he did say that I’d be back in for this game. And I’m just pleased that I’m here again.

“I feel very fit, I’ve played about 20 games since I went to Huddersfield – full games, so I’ve got to be happy with that. I feel good, very good, but I fully realise that there is a quality difference from the third tier of English football to playing international football.

“I’m just hoping that I’ve got enough experience, enough about me, to see me through if I’m called upon.”

“We knew when he came here that he wanted to keep playing for the Republic, if possible,” said Huddersfield manager Lee Clark yesterday, commenting on Kilbane’s absence for the club’s league game against Notts County on Saturday. “The number of caps he has won speaks for itself, because you don’t get a total like he has by luck.”

But, after almost 12 years as a fixture in Ireland’s starting line-up, Kilbane now waits to see if he has been usurped by one of the squad’s newcomers, or if, once again, he holds on to his place in the side.

“It’s a difficult decision, but that’s why (Trapattoni) is the manager, he has to make these decisions. Nothing has been discussed.

“It will probably be Friday before we know, so we’ll wait and see. Hopefully, I’ll be in the team – if I’m not, I’ll just be supportive of the player that’s playing in my position.”

If he was the manager? “I’d go with myself all day – I’d be captain and all!”

Euro 2012 qualifying: Ireland fixtures

March 26th: Macedonia (h)

June 4th: Macedonia (a)

September 2nd: Slovakia (h)

September 6th: Russia (a)

October 7th: Andorra (a)

October 11th: Armenia (h)