Republic of Ireland manager Martin O’Neill will be in Dublin on Thursday morning to name his preliminary squad for the European Championships. O’Neill is expected to name an initial group of up to 40 players with the travelling party of 23 currently scheduled to be finalised on May 28th, the morning after the friendly against the Netherlands.

Just about all of the serious contenders for France are set to clear the initial hurdle although it is possible that O’Neill might extinguish the hopes of some of the longer shots. The Derry man is not in any way bound by the squad he names on Thursday and he could draft in others, most obviously in the event of somebody getting injured, but the expectation would certainly be that those who miss out today could probably starting making alternative plans for June.

O’Neill has a few ongoing injury worries but all of his key first-choice players are set to feature in the extended group and the manager will be pleased to have seen Jeff Hendrick take another step towards a return to competitive action on Tuesday when he featured for a half in a friendly for Derby County against Barnsley.