Shay Given insists that his aim is to displace David Forde rather than just help to prepare him for the Republic of Ireland's vital European championship qualifier against Poland this Sunday but the Aston Villa goalkeeper is happy, he says, to play whatever role helps Martin O'Neill's side get the result required.
“To get into the team is the first thing you want to do,” he says, “but obviously I don’t pick the team so it’s just to work hard in training this week; the goalkeepers are a tight group and we all work together.
“We’re not going to go around making two-footed tackles in a bid to get a game or anything,” he adds with a laugh. “You wish him well, whoever plays, but at the same time we have personal pride and we’re professionals and we want to play in the game.
“It’s such a huge game, I’d love to play on Sunday but I don’t pick the team so I’ve just got to work hard in training.”
Told that O’Neill hoped Villa’s cup quarter-final against West Brom might go to a replay so the Irishman would get another 90 minutes of first time football, Given laughs and says “Me too!” but, he says, he is hopeful of featuring in the semi-final and, of course, the cup final itself if Tim Sherwood’s side makes it that far.
Before that, he says, the Poland game is the most important challenge to face this Ireland team for quite a while with a big result required if O’Neill’s men are to keep themselves in a strong position to qualify for the championship finals in France next summer.
“It’s huge and it’s a big week building up to it now as well,” he says. “It’s one of the biggest games we’ll play in the whole qualifying campaign of course, Poland are a great team but we’re at home and we have to use that advantage to try and get a win. Martin a master of building up to games like this but we know what’s at stake, we know how important it is and the team talk kind of takes care of itself.”
The manager may still, he knows, feel the need to say a few words about containing Robert Lewandowski but Given says he is well aware of the threat on that front too.
“I think he sort of speaks for himself; Lewandowski is a great player actually and he has some great players around him, especially the two wingers.
“He’s the main guy but we can’t just focus on him, he’s got some great players around him.
But we’ve got all week to prepare and we’ll be well drilled by the end of it, we’ll watch videos of them.”
Given, meanwhile, welcomed the indication from Villa team mate Jack Grealish that he will make himself available to Ireland for international duty again from September.
“Yeah it’s good to hear, it’s all from taking a year out as well and I never heard one that before. It’s like he turned into a student and took a gap year,” he said with a smile.
“It’s great that he’s had a nice rest and he’s going to come back in!
"He's a class player. He obviously wants to play more time for Villa as well, but he's still very young and Tim Sherwood is just sort of letting him in gently into the team. But I think he has the right manager that will get the best out of him and hopefully he has a big future ahead of him."
