Giovanni Trapattoni welcomed his squad (Aug 12) to Malahide for the first training session of a new campaign.
Trapattoni said that he is very enthusiastic about the start of a new campaign and is looking forward to working with the younger players over the coming days. He said he will look at both a 4 4 2 and a 4 3 3 formation ahead of the match against Serbia on Wednesday and hinted that he is open to using either system or a combination of both during the friendly encounter in Belgrade.
Asked about the availability of senior players for the remainder of the campaign, the Italian felt they would be very important and ready to play their part. He hinted at agreements with them to skip this friendly match and said that they remain an important part of his plans for the World Cup Qualification campaign.
Kevin Doyle (Haematoma) and Marc Wilson (pro-dormal symptoms of a viral infection) will not be able to join up with the squad while Stephen Ward and Keith Treacy are both carrying injuries and will be assessed by the team doctor to determine whether they will be fit to travel. A decision will be made tomorrow.
Following Wes Hoolahan's withdrawal from the squad on Friday (Achilles), Norwich City were contacted about the availability of Anthony Pilkington. However, Pilkington sustained a hamstring injury and came off after 65 minutes in a pre-season friendly yesterday and is not fit to report.
Damien Delaney has also been called into the squad and arrived in Portmarnock this afternoon.
