FORMER REPUBLIC OF IRELAND captain Kenny Cunningham feels Brighton’s Shane Duffy will be a first-choice centre-back for the remainder of World Cup qualifying and is expecting big things from the 24-year-old.

Even prior to Euro 2016, concerns were raised about the Irish team’s defence and, with Martin O’Neill altering his central partnership for the crunch clash with Italy in Lille, it would appear that he still has his own doubts about which options to trust.

John O’Shea and Ciaran Clark were both dropped that evening, with Duffy handed a start, but the veteran was back in the side for Monday’s 2-2 with Serbia in Belgrade.

However, Cunningham, who racked up 72 caps, feels Duffy, who couldn’t feature against the Serbs because of suspension, is the man with the momentum and thinks he’ll return to the starting XI for next month’s fixtures against Georgia and Moldova.

“Martin’s hands were tied on Monday night but going forward it’s a decision he has to make”, he told The42.

“With Shane’s performances over the last 6-12 months, he’s pushing strongly. Not just for a starting place. He got the starting place. That was a huge decision Martin made in the summer. When you make a decision like that, you don’t make it for one game only. If Shane was available for Serbia,  I would have expected him to play, so I think he’ll be starting next month”.

Chris Radburn Chris Radburn

Despite the concerns raised by some regarding the Irish central defensive options, Cunningham has been impressed with what they’ve offered at various moments.

“I’d be happy with any pairing, given the pool of talent we have there”, he said.

“We’re all huge fans of John, and I think the partnership of Richard Keogh and Ciaran Clark in the two playoff games against Bosnia was one of the highlights of those games. I thought they were rock solid. Clark – I’ve been saying for a few years now – is ready to step in and play. Yes, he made a few mistakes in the summer but he’s still got the quality to play regularly at this level.”

Still, it’s Duffy who Cunningham talks effusively about.

“Given Shane’s performances in the lead up to the Championships and the game against Switzerland in Dublin, they were so impressive”, he says.

Coming into the squad, getting a second or third cap and being as vocal as he was in those games, that was the most impressive thing. Forget about the technical side of his game, his positioning etc – just how he carried himself on the pitch, giving information, and even digging people out, that’s a very good sign, someone with a very strong personality.

Then there’s his physicality. He absolutely dominates in the air, he really does. Maybe not since Richard (Dunne) have we had one of these lads that are powerful and they absolutely dominate people. He looks like he can do that and offer a threat in the opposition box, which he has done already. Going forward, I’m probably looking at Shane Duffy and AN Other (at centre-back).”

Darko Vojinovic Darko Vojinovic

The Derry native had a turbulent start to his club season. Before becoming Brighton’s record signing when he joined last month, he racked up three own goals and a red card from Blackburn’s first five fixtures. On his last appearance for Ireland, he was sent-off against France.

The Blackburn stuff gleaned some inevitable publicity. In some quarters, it became a stick to beat him with, despite him having been a remarkably consistent performer for the club over the previous two seasons.

But Cunningham feels that questioning Duffy’s ability because of recent incidents is a foolhardy and pointless exercise.

“I’d never make a judgement on someone scoring an own goal in a game. I’d make an assessment on what I’ve seen over 90 minutes. A red card the same”, he says.

“If you watch those games over 90 minutes and assess his full performance, okay, but I wouldn’t make an assessment on the stand-out stats alone. And if someone says he’s been patchy over the last few weeks and he shouldn’t be starting because of that, then f*cking hell, you might as well just throw balls up in the air.

I’d make judgement call on how he’s played in international jersey and how he’s carried himself. Some players can have poor form, and you know what, it doesn’t bother them – they turn up, you give them the shirt and off they go.”

Kenny Cunningham was speaking at the launch of eir Sport’s European Football coverage. eir Sport will broadcast all six of Dundalk’s Europa League group games on a free to view basis. The eir Sport pack is the only place to view the rest of the Europa League action including all of Manchester United’s games and every Champions League game.

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