TAKEN FROM THE IRISH INDEPENDENT

Given dreads scoreless draw

FROM a goalkeeper's perspective, clean sheets are the currency you deal in.

Shay Given is no different. Yet he appreciates that this Saturday, the personal satisfaction of preserving an impregnable goal will count for nothing should the rest of his team-mates fall short at the other end.

A draw is worthless for Ireland and, having augmented his Newcastle side's first league win last Saturday with a clean sheet - thanks in the main to a superlative save from Southampton's Paul Telfer - the Donegal man knows the thin line between personal success and ultimate failure for his country against the Swiss.

"Someone was asking me whether I'd like to have a clean sheet, but it's irrelevant in the context of this match," said Given yesterday.

"Obviously, one or two-nil would be great but I wouldn't care if it was 6-5 or 10-9 once it was good enough for us to go on.

"Anyway, I've had so few clean sheets recently, so it doesn't make much difference! Once we win, that's the main thing."

Even if Given coughs up a goal during an Irish win, he will remind himself of Teheran two years ago when Ireland's 17-match unbeaten run ended in the second leg of the World Cup play-off to Iran yet they advanced on aggregate. Elation, not deflation, was the prevailing mood despite the defeat.

"That's history now, and so are the Belgian matches and the Turkish matches," says Given, echoing the squad's mood.

"Obviously, some of us will have experience from big games like that and hopefully we'll be able to help some of the younger lads, because it's bound to be a different atmosphere. But it's only a help and it's not as if we're actively drawing on past experiences.

"This 90 minutes is all that's left for us. It's black or white. Win or we don't make it, simple as that."

Given doesn't even remember much about Switzerland's win in Dublin, a game which played a significant part in creating this Saturday's epic endgame. His focus is purely on seeking retribution this Saturday.

"The Swiss aren't up at the head of the table for no reason," he muses. "I mean, they must be doing something right, although there may be a perception that ourselves and Russia are the ones finishing fast while they're sagging a little. I don't know.

"All I can remember about the match in Dublin is that we got caught out trying to go for the win. They broke down my left-hand side and suddenly we were behind again. But that's gone.

"The same way that the Russian match is gone. Whether they came to play for a draw or not doesn't matter because they got the point and now we know what we have to do.

"And if you'd given us this scenario back in October last year, then I'd have snapped your hand off."

Buttressing his defence this weekend may be Andy O'Brien, instead of the suspended Kenny Cunningham, but the change will not worry Given who has been impressed by his club colleague's form.

"I think Andy's been playing really, really well," says Given. "He was our best player on Saturday and, with Jonathan Woodgate out injured, he's been an important player for us. His pace is a tremendous asset. But there's a number of scenarios and whoever's asked to fit in won't let us down."

Given has rarely let his country down - and now he has family honour to uphold too. Recently, his 15-year-old brother, Paul, received a fortnight's informal tuitition at St James' Park. "He thought it was great," smiles Given, "training and then falling asleep on the sofa!"

One suspects that Given the younger, like most of his compatriots, will be slightly nearer the sofa's edge this Saturday, praying for a win.

As for a clean sheet? "Just a bonus," smiles Given.

David Kelly

Webmasters Note: Paul Given will not be on the edge of his sofa there David, he'll be at the match himself! :-) flying out to Germany today and on to Switzerland on Saturday, as will three others from Shay's family, but a nice pun there nevertheless! :-)