Ireland B captain wants to impress

Republic of Ireland B captain Stephen McPhail watched the senior team going through their paces today and revealed his determination to impress manager Steve Staunton.

With Staunton reintroducing B internationals, tomorrow's match against their Scotland counterparts at Dalymount Park in Dublin represents a chance for the Irish players to impress the boss and his assistant Pat Devlin.

For many, it is the first step on the international ladder, but for McPhail, it is an opportunity to re-establish himself in the national team.

The 26-year-old Cardiff midfielder won the last of his 10 caps two-and-a-half years ago in a 3-0 friendly defeat to Nigeria, and has not been given a look-in since.

Being made captain of the B team clearly shows how close McPhail is to earning a senior recall, with his thoughts obvious as he took in the closing moments of the first-team training session at Malahide's Gannon Park.

"Watching the seniors train, I was quite envious and wishing I was out there with them," remarked McPhail. "But ask any player in the B squad and they will tell you they want to be involved in the first-team set-up, so I am no different to anybody else.

"Hopefully I can impress tomorrow and get a chance to get back in there."

Chris Sutton once refused the opportunity of a B team call-up for England, believing he should have been in the first team.

That is not McPhail's philosophy as he added: "It's a great chance to impress people, not just in the game but also in training. If you can give a good performance then you can never know where it might take you."

McPhail certainly does not look back with any anger at being overlooked since winning his last full cap, nor at how the likes of Stephen Ireland and Jonathan Douglas have broken through into the squad ahead of him.

"I am sure I have had people watching me, but right now I'm just trying to play well in every game for Cardiff because we are flying at the moment," stated McPhail.

"It's not bothered me that others have come through. It's good to see someone like Stephen doing well at a big club (Manchester City), so he is entitled to his chance.

"If I can keep my performance levels high at Cardiff, keep my chin up and keep plugging away, then I'm sure I will get a chance."