SOCCER:STOKE CITY striker Jonathan Walters is in the hunt to get his first senior cap when Norway come to town on Wednesday week, but manager Giovanni Trapattoni insisted yesterday he would start the game with a strong side as he looks to get Ireland winning again after the disappointment of the games against Russia and Slovakia.

Walters is, along with Séamus Coleman and Marc Wilson, one of just three uncapped players in a 27-man preliminary squad named yesterday by the Italian, who suggested he would be in a better position to talk about line ups and debuts after he sees which of his players feature this weekend for their clubs.

With the likes of Paul McShane, Caleb Folan and Darren O’Dea all carrying knocks, withdrawals are expected and Trapattoni said he had named more players than usual on the basis that some would not make it over for the game.

Definitely absent are some of the more prominent former England under-21 internationals who have been linked with a switch of allegiance. Mark Noble, Trapattoni confirmed, has not been approached, while the agents of unnamed others, the Italian suggested, had prevaricated when contacted, apparently seeking assurances their clients would play regularly for Ireland if they made themselves available.

“We asked the question (if the players wanted to play for Ireland) and it wasn’t like with Shane Duffy (the Derry-born Everton defender who was seriously injured in a training game at Malahide this summer) who immediately said: “Yes”. I cannot tell the others what the situation will be. I can only say: ‘Come!’ and then put what I think is the best team out on the pitch.”

Also out of the reckoning for the Norway game is Keith Andrews with the Blackburn Rovers midfielder having had an operation for the groin problem troubling him recently, while Andy Keogh, on loan at Cardiff from Wolves, has apparently been told to stay with his club on this occasion while the manager looks at other players.

Walters is one of those Trapattoni wants to see in action and he said yesterday he would also bring him in for the Nations Cup games in the spring.

With Folan injured again and looking as likely as anyone to withdraw over the coming days, the 27-year-old Stoke City player looks well placed to get some sort of run out and Trapattoni talked up his mix of physical strength and positive attitude yesterday.

He also spoke highly of Aston Villa’ Ciaran Clark, who he watched in action against Birmingham City recently, although he made it clear he felt the 21-year-old was not best suited to the central midfield role he had been handed that day.

“He’s a good defender, though, very attentive, although he needs to play more because he’s still very young.”

While Clark will have to wait for the paperwork to go through at Fifa’s headquarters before he gets to run out in a green jersey, Coleman may make his first senior appearance this month.

Trapattoni didn’t speculate on the Everton player’s chances of featuring on Wednesday week but he did make it clear that having watched him recently, he sees the Donegalman first and foremost as a right back.

“For his club, he plays in front of the defence, going forward but we need a defender.”

Expanding on how the 22-year-old might be accommodated in the team, he went on to make it clear John O’Shea could yet find himself back in the centre of the Ireland defence or on the left at some stage, although he made it clear he does not see the Waterfordman as a midfielder.

There was little mention of Keith Treacy, who took a break last month when he declined to join up with the squad for the Russia and Slovakia games on the basis he wasn’t fully fit, had threatened to seriously undermine his international prospects, although the Dubliner will surely be relieved to learn Trapattoni did say he wanted to have another look at the Preston winger.

Stephen Hunt’s return to fitness was warmly welcomed, however, with the veteran manager insisting again the player’s involvement against the Russians might have been a key factor in countering Ireland’s tactical disadvantage against a side that overran the Irish in midfield by deploying an extra man there.

After a year away through injury, Hunt may well go straight back into the team, for Trapattoni made clear his intention to start with a strong side against a Norwegian side that currently tops European Championship qualification Group H, ahead of Portugal and Denmark.

Securing a win in the game, he maintains, is “important for morale” after taking just one point from last month’s qualifiers, while he made clear once again, he will be obliged to play regulars like Shay Given and Robbie Keane who might otherwise have been rested because they are getting so little first-team football for their clubs.