THERE WAS, as they say, good news and bad news for the Ireland management team in Malahide yesterday as they prepared for this afternoon’s trip to Armenia, with Aiden McGeady coming through a training session without any problems but Paul McShane was ruled out of Friday’s game due to his ongoing hamstring problem.

Given the respective strength of his options in defence and midfield, it’s probably a trade off Giovanni Trapattoni would have settled for if he’d been offered the choice, though, with McGeady a far more likely starter on Ireland’s wing in Yerevan than McShane at right back or centre half.

Even so, the loss of the Hull City defender is a blow to the Italian, not least because another member of his defensive cover brigade, Darren O’Dea, went over badly on his knee during yesterday’s training game and ended up in hospital for a scan.

A final decision on whether he will travel with the squad will be made this morning.

McGeady’s progress, meanwhile, is a boost, although naming the now Moscow-based midfielder in his starting 11 still looks as though it would be something of a gamble by the manager given the fact he has not played any competitive football this season.

After watching the winger get through training without any recurrence of the ankle problem that has delayed his debut for Spartak, however, Marco Tardelli insisted yesterday the 24-year-old is firmly in contention to feature from the outset of Ireland European qualification campaign opener.

“All the players are very sharp,” he said. “I think it’s better if they play for their clubs but, if they don’t, they play with us. And maybe the rest means they will be stronger for the next match.”

In fact, as Trapattoni is regularly at pains to point out, having quite so many players “rested” so regularly by their clubs is a far from an ideal scenario but McGeady’s availability will still be seen as important ahead of a game which Ireland must try to win without half of the team’s first- choice midfield.

There are other options, as Trapattoni observed on Monday, with Keith Fahey and Andy Keogh both also contenders for the number 11 shirt and there are significant decisions to be made through the middle of the team too, with the identities of Glenn Whelan’s and Richard Dunne’s partners in central midfield and defence still uncertain.

Sean St Ledger, to be fair, looks likely to reclaim the centre back slot after missing the Argentina game, although clearly Stephen Kelly will be hoping John O’Shea is preferred there but the manager’s dilemma midfield is slightly more difficult to call.

Paul Green has made a strong start to the season at club level and acquitted himself well in his three international appearances to date, while Darron Gibson has not come anywhere close to featuring for Manchester United over the last few weeks.

The Derby County man looks set to edge out the northerner but even at 27 year-old, he lacks his rival’s experience at this level and needs the manager to take something of a leap of faith.

From a goal scoring point of view, Damien Duff’s absence is particularly significant but Tardelli was hopeful yesterday that Ireland can take the first step towards qualification despite the setbacks encountered over the past few days.

“The key to qualification is to win every match,” he said with a smile, “but that’s not always possible. Our players are professionals, they want to win these two matches but we have also another team in the game.

“It’s possible to win if you play well but it’s also possible that the other team won’t permit this.

“This will be a very difficult match. Armenia is growing and at home they are very dangerous. They play quickly and are very tough. They have new, young players – I have seen many DVDs – and I think we need to pay attention.

“I saw the DVD against Iran and even though they lost they played well. But we scored against all teams so it is possible to score against Armenia too.

“For me it is a very important match because it is our first match and it is an away match that it is possible to win. If we win there then we can take six points from the two games.”

Trapattoni’s current difficulties, of course, would be heavily compounded in the event that one of Ireland first-choice strikers proved incapable of starting, but Robbie Keane was quick to play down the importance of the strapping on his right knee during training yesterday, insisting he will fine come Friday.

“It’s sore when I kick the ball but there is no problem when I’m twisting or turning,” he said.

“It’s something that I have had for a while but it will be okay.”

Aside from injuries and a lack of sharpness in some departments, another Irish concern over the next couple of days will be the heat in Yerevan, where temperatures are currently peaking at around 33 degrees and dropping by about 10 before kick-off time.

“Yes, the temperature will be very hot for us,” observed Tardelli yesterday, “but it was also very hot in Cyprus; Montenegro too.

“If we play well and with attention, it’s not important whether it’s rain or sun.”