Trapattoni Right with Brady Decision for Ireland

The Republic of Ireland may just have found a new star in Robbie Brady, who wowed spectators at Craven Cottage during his country’s 4-1 demolition over Oman on Tuesday.

Brady scored a goal and set up two more as Ireland recorded a confidence-boosting win to add to their dramatic victory over Kazakhstan four days earlier, yet manager, Giovanni Trapattoni, has warned that he is not about to throw the youngster into unchartered waters too soon.

Speaking after the Oman game, Trapattoni said: “I have been asked whether players who play in friendlies will play in the qualifiers immediately after before and, in the case of the game against Germany, the answer is ‘no’. Absolutely no.”

The decision to withhold Brady after his display will no doubt upset some Irish fans on Betfair desperate to see their team qualify for their first World Cup finals in over a decade, but Trapattoni is right not to throw Brady in before he’s ready.

Despite Brady’s quality on show at Craven Cottage, he is yet to force his way into first-team club football. The Manchester United starlet played a full campaign on loan at Hull City last season, and appears set to play some small part in a United shirt this autumn.

Starting Brady may sound like a good idea but Ireland must be cautious about ruining his confidence before his ability has time to catch up. Brady will be given opportunities under Sir Alex Ferguson this season and Ireland fans can do worse than watch his progress at Old Trafford, rather than the Aviva Stadium.

Brady is the start of a new crop of Irish stars that are overhauling the old guard that qualified for this summer’s European Championships, but failed to turn up when it really mattered. Give him and the other youngsters time, and Trapattoni will have a good team in place before these qualifiers are over.

Trapattoni has been making a name for himself in the news recently. The Italian recently made an example out of resident loose cannon, James McClean, following a Twitter tirade.