Connolly completes misery for Givens

Ireland's caretaker manager Don Givens was introduced to the wacky world of international football yesterday when ten players withdrew from the squad to play Greece in a friendly here tomorrow, and another was involved in a comical misunderstanding.

After losing almost half his original party, all from Premiership clubs, Givens rang to offer a place to Wimbledon's feisty little striker David Connolly, who immediately demanded to know why he had been left out in the first place after a recent scoring spree. Asked again if he wanted to make the trip, Connolly said "No, I'm injured," but claimed that before he could get the last two words out, Givens had put down the phone, convinced that he was being snubbed.

"I think there's something wrong with somebody's attitude when they don't want to play for their country," the manager said later. Connolly, however, insisted that he had stitches in his ankle after suffering an injury late in the game against Walsall on Saturday, adding: "He should have rung the club, because I'd agreed with them that I wouldn't go."

Givens had greater success in calling up Coventry City's Barry Quinn and Richie Partridge, and two players from the League of Ireland, Shelbourne's Wes Houlihan and Bohemians' Glen Crowe. Crowe, one of the few strikers available, will start alongside Tottenham's Gary Doherty, becoming the first representative of Ireland's domestic league in a full international for 16 years.

The 10 players to have dropped out, including three full-backs and four forwards, are Stephen Carr and Robbie Keane (Tottenham), Gary Kelly and Ian Harte (Leeds), Andy O'Brien (Newcastle), Mark Kinsella (Aston Villa), Kevin Kilbane (Sunderland), Damien Duff (Blackburn), Clinton Morison (Birmingham) and Graham Barrett (Arsenal). Mark Kennedy of Wolves had already announced last week that he was not ready to return after a long injury.