1 Stephen IrelandThe then Manchester City midfielder was an inherited problem in the wake of his infamous "Grannygate" departure from the squad during Steve Staunton's time in charge but an attempt at a rapprochement didn't go well and the player's public criticism of Trapattoni afterwards for supposedly taking numerous calls on various different mobile phones sealed the Corkman's fate. Much stronger club form just might change things but as they stand, more forgiving international managers that the 73-year-old Italian might well regard him as more trouble than he's worth.

2 Andy Reid

Like Ireland, Reid ended up being somewhat surplus to requirements once the new manager had decided on his tactics but unlike the Aston Villa player, the Dubliner had the chance to have a say in things only to miss the initial training camp organised in Portugal in somewhat dubious circumstances. After that, he was always fighting an uphill battle. When the team went to play Georgia in Mainz in what was the Italian’s first competitive game in charge the two fell out spectacularly over his behaviour late at night in the team hotel. Many versions of the events have done the rounds since but those that seem the most reliable give the impression that Reid primarily has himself to blame.

3 Steven Reid

The former Millwall player had had his problems with injuries long before Trapattoni arrived on the scene but still managed to play in the Norway friendly three years ago and then the manager’s first two competitive games in charge.

The problems started after that, however, and culminated in the Italian speculating that the player’s career might be ended by a succession of injuries. Sam Allardyce probably made matters worse by going to bat for a player he subsequently released and Trapattoni took to ignoring Reid who, out of courtesy it seemed, retired from international football. Has said he would come back several times since and really should have been recalled long ago by the manager.

4 James McCarthy

Widely regarded with affection by Irish fans because of the basis for his decision to play for Ireland and the rave reviews he had been receiving since his mid teens, the midfielder seemed to be progressing nicely when handed a senior debut against Brazil in London at the start of 2010. A succession of withdrawals from squads, however, some of which appear to have been prompted by a protective club manager, Roberto Martinez, and speculation he might revert to playing for Scotland – a rumour also fuelled it seemed by the Spaniard – prompted tension with Trapattoni who also gave the impression that he resented the pressure he was coming under to play him. Gradually, though, communications between the pair improved and the midfielder now looks to have firmly established himself in the manager’s plans.

5 Marc Wilson

The Northerner was also in that squad for that game against Brazil but in almost three years since, he has played just nine minutes of football for Ireland, against Wales in the Cup of Nations. He still looked a little bemused this week when asked about the sloppy case of mistaken identity that resulted in him being excluded from the squad by Trapattoni for a spell and admitted to an understandable level of disappointment that he has not made far greater inroads. Looks set to start progressing now, though, and, barring further mishaps, must be a serious contender to displace Stephen Ward at left back as the campaign progresses.

6 Keith Treacy

The winger was one of a long list of players to upset Don Givens during his time as an under-21 international and looked set to fall foul of Trapattoni at senior level too when he was reported as suggesting that he preferred to take a break with his feet up rather join up with Ireland for the qualifiers against Russia and Slovakia in 2010. He seemed to have survived but subsequently slipped further down the Italian’s pecking order due to his lack of progress at club level.

7 Anthony Stokes

Another to have been accused at one time or another of poor attitude during his underage days, the Dubliner withdrew from the squad for the end-of-season games against Northern Ireland, Scotland, Macedonia and Italy last year because, he apparently said, he was tired. Trapattoni effectively threw his eyes up to heaven and pushed on without the talented but hugely erratic Celtic player.

8 Ciaran Clark

The Aston Villa defender has made steady progress at club level over the past couple of years and now looks to have established himself as a first-choice centre half under Paul Lambert, quite possibly at the expense of Richard Dunne. His ability to also play at left back or central midfield should make him pretty attractive to Trapattoni but after just two caps, it seems that the 22-year-old is in the manager’s bad books over a disciplinary episode.

9 Kevin Foley

The Wolves player had done rather better out of his versatility but was felt terribly hard done by earlier in the summer when he was named by Trapattoni in the squad of 23 for the European Championships, then dropped in order to make way for Paul McShane who could provide cover in central defence where a number of problems had developed. The 27-year-old player’s disappointment was understandable and Trapattoni has questions to answer in regard to both his decision to name his squad so early and the assurances he is said to have provided to Foley that he was under no pressure to prove his own fitness. Ultimately, though, the manager’s call, while tough, looked the right one and the player’s self-imposed exile since has facilitated Joey O’Brien’s return from the wilderness.

10 Joey O’Brien

The West Ham defender was regarded as one of the country’s brightest prospects towards the tail-end of Staunton’s reign but made the mistake of suggesting he was left feeling like a “fan in a tracksuit” on Ireland trips in which he did not get to play a year or so after the current manager took charge. The player, who subsequently endured a torrid time with injuries, claimed that the comments had not been intended for publication (something the journalist in question disputes), but in any case Trapattoni’s reaction was severe with O’Brien discarded until last month’s game in Serbia where he was recalled and came on to make his fourth appearance for his country.

11 Shay Given

The goalkeeper always spoke with great respect for the Italian who maintained his position as Ireland’s undisputed number one. Some of those close to him, however, suggest there was no great warmth to the relationship and the announcement of his retirement from international retirement came just 24 hours after Trapattoni had said he expected all of his senior players to stick around, something that pointed to poor communications between the pair despite all their work together.

12 Damien Duff

The Fulham player was unequivocally positive about the manager in interviews given after he announced his decision to retire from international football, coming across as both liking and respecting the Italian who, he said, could not have done more to keep him on board. Others disagreed and Trapattoni has been obliged to suggest that he will meet the Dubliner during the coming weeks in an attempt to change his mind.

13 Darron Gibson

The midfielder reacted pretty badly to Trapattoni’s original suggestion that he should leave Manchester United in order to secure regular first-team football and continue his development as a player but not as badly as he has to not being rewarded for belatedly taking the advice with a bit of game time at Euro 2012. There was certainly a case to be made for Trapattoni making changes to his starting line up ahead of the Italy game but Gibson’s withdrawal from the current squad on the basis of his lingering “disappointment” that the Italian stuck to what he continued to regard as his strongest line up has clearly left the veteran coach unimpressed and seems set to cost Gibson for some time to come.

14 Stephen Hunt

The midfielder has had his problems with injuries over the past couple of seasons but his place in Trapattoni’s affections seemed to be confirmed when he returned to fitness last year and made seven straight appearances (two starts, five from the bench) during the qualification campaign run-in. Was disappointed not to feature in Poland too and it seems that his reaction may have irked the manager too for despite the departure of Damien Duff, it’s starting to look like he has been frozen out now.

15 Shane Long

It actually wasn’t the first time that the West Brom striker’s injury concerns had left Trapattoni a little put out, but when Long complained to journalists about being dropped for the game in Serbia last month after having suggested himself, in the wake of being named in the team, that he required a scan on a possible calf strain, his relationship with the Italian looked set to take a costly dive.

If the original transgression was the player’s, Trapattoni went too far in the way that he mocked him the day after the game but thankfully both men seem to have successfully put the incident behind them and the manager made it clear on Sunday that Long was in with a reasonable shout of starting tomorrow night.

If only all such situations could be so successfully defused.