Manager happy with direction

SOCCER:GIOVANNI TRAPATTONI wore a satisfied grin after his significantly weakened side earned a second victory over his homeland last night in Liege. The Italian, despite seeing his side concede a large amount of possession, will take the summer off knowing the last few weeks, on the pitch at least, have been a job well done.

He said: “We played four difficult games in 14 days, we changed a lot of players, but the team is heading in a good direction. Your colleagues asked ‘why this game?’ The manager needs these games, because we try (Stephen) Ward, (Simon) Cox and (Shane) Long and (Andy) Keogh up front. We have four or five young players, and they need experience . . . We need to create this team.”

One of the success stories has been West Brom striker Cox, who scored on his debut against Northern Ireland last month and last night came off the bench to score in injury time. “We saw many times Cox and when the reporters ask ‘why Cox or (Caleb) Folan’, we say we know he has the quality and he is suitable for us.”

Keith Andrews, who opened the scoring from 30 yards, insisted spirit in the camp was high, despite controversial withdrawals. “We’ve had four games, four clean sheets, team spirit has been phenomenal. All the crap that’s been going on about players not turning up hasn’t been a big deal for us . . . New players have come into the squad and shone and we have a great platform going forward.”