Niall Quinn is ready to offer Mick McCarthy some opportune encouragement by confirming his availability for the World Cup qualifying game against Holland a week on Saturday.

Despite the fact that he is carrying an ankle injury, sustained in a pre-season game against FC Porto, the Sunderland player believes he will be available for the international assignment.

The problem was sufficiently acute to cause him to depart prematurely after heading the winner against Arsenal on Saturday but he insists that, providing it doesn't get worse, it will not keep him out of the Ireland squad.

"The injury couldn't have come at a worse stage of the season," he said. "It's not chronic but there is a weakness in my ankle. Ideally, it needs three or four weeks rest but I just can't afford that kind of time."

"It's important that Sunderland make a good start in the Premiership. And from my point of view, I simply cannot afford to miss the World Cup game.

"That's going to be a big match for Ireland. And despite the reputation of the Dutch, it's one in which we can do well - providing we put out a strong team.

"Peter Reid knows my problem and will be sympathetic. For the moment I'm just focusing on Wednesday's game against another of my old clubs, Manchester City and hoping that I get through the full 90 minutes."

Quinn, seldom less than an influential member of the team in recent years, could have an even more important responsibility to discharge in the Amsterdam game.

With McCarthy likely to pitch his ambition at saving a point, the expectation is that he will jettison a forward in the hope of containing the Dutch by weight of numbers. And on the last occasion, he embarked on this kind of mission he preferred Quinn to Robbie Keane for the Euro 2000 game against Yugoslavia at Belgrade.

It could be argued that since then, Keane's career has accelerated considerably but as a one-man strike force, Quinn's physique and even more important, his experience would appear to fit him better for the task of holding the ball.

Although Roy Keane allayed fears about his fitness by leading Manchester United to victory over Newcastle United on Sunday, the weekend programme had a couple of disquieting aspects for McCarthy.

Terry Phelan, back in the squad on the strength of some fine performances during the end of season programme, didn't play for Fulham but of even more significance, perhaps, was the omission of Phil Babb for the start of Sporting Lisbon's championship programme in Portugal.

Babb, who moved to Lisbon on the expiration of his contract with Liverpool in the summer, took part in most of the club's preseason games and in the estimation of some observers, did well.

But with the return from injury of Sporting's Brazilian defender, Andre Cruz, he was left on the bench at the weekend, with apparently only a slim chance of a recall next Sunday.

Taken in conjunction with Richard Dunne's five match suspension, it means that neither of the two leading contenders for the vacancy occasioned by Kenny Cunningham's injury, will have played a competitive game before they get to the World Cup assignment.

It was scarcely re-assuring for McCarthy to discover that his other central defender, Gary Breen was substituted before the end of Coventry's 3-1 home defeat by Middlesbrough but in this instance, there are no fitness worries to aggravate the problem.