Irish Sports Desk With no contract, Irwin ponders move to Manchester City

By Sean Creedon

Denis Irwin’s career at Old Trafford may be coming to an end. And if Manchester United release the man they call "Mr. Consistency," then he may be on his way to archrival Manchester City. Irwin is surprised that United have not offered him another one-year contract.

"The club are aware of my situation," he said. "It’s a case of waiting to see what’s on offer. I’m not greatly worried. I was always going to wait until summer to get down to the nitty-gritty. But, yes, I have to admit that I’m a bit surprised they haven’t been back to me on with an offer."

If the Cork-born defender is released, he could link up with Joe Royle at Manchester City, who could be relegated to the first division after just one season back in the top flight. But Irwin wouldn’t mind linking up again with Royle, who as Oldham manager sold Irwin to United in 1990.

"The important thing is to have the chance to play regularly," he said. "No one fancies sitting on a bench for weeks on end. Regular first-team action keeps you sharp. Given that opportunity, and if I avoid serious injury, I believe I can go on for another couple of seasons."

Ireland awaits Andorra

Andorra are unlikely to dent The Republic’s impressive unbeaten run when they visit Lansdowne Road this evening (April. 25). The minnows of Group 2 put up a good show in Barcelona last month, before eventually going down 3-0. Since a 2-1 loss to Scotland at Lansdowne Road last May, the Republic have beaten South Africa, Estonia, Finland, Cyprus and Andorra and drawn with Mexico, the U.S., Holland and Portugal.

This will be Mick McCarthy’s 50th game in charge of the Republic and he should celebrate with three more valuable World Cup points.

Keane disappointed

Roy Keane says that this may be the end of the road for the current United team following their Champions League exit to Bayern Munich last week.

"The players gave it all, but we are just not good enough and maybe it’s time to move on," he said. "It’s no good winning the Premier League; we need to step up a level in Europe. I keep going on about Real Madrid, but they’re setting the standards we have to match."

Keane has hinted once again that he wants to end his playing career with Glasgow Celtic.

McKiernan races again

Catherina McKiernan made a surprise return to competitive racing on Easter Sunday. The Cavan runner finished second in the Dunboyne four-mile road race.

"I wanted to keep my appearance in Dunboyne low key, as even my family didn’t know that I had decided to run," she said. "I have not raced since last July and I didn’t want a big fuss to be made about my return to competition."

McKiernan, who missed the Sydney Olympics because of an injury, has been receiving treatment for a leg injury from Limerick physical therapist Gerard Hartmann.

"The treatment has been working well for me and I have a lot of days now when my running is pain free," she said.

O’Shea inducted

Former Kerry star Jack O’Shea has been inducted into the GAA’s Hall of Fame. A surprise omission from the Team of the Millennim announced last year, O’Shea, along with former Mayo star Padraig Carney, have joined the Hall of Fame. Two hurlers also also been added to the Hall of Fame list: Wexford’s Nicky Rackard and Kilkenny’s Frank Cummins.

Spaniard joins Irvine

Ireland’s Eddie Irvine will have a new driving partner in the Jaguar team this weekend in the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona. Jaguar team boss Niki Lauda confirmed that Spaniard Pedro de la Rosa will replace Formula One newcomer Brazilian Luciano Burti at Jaguar immediately.

The plan was to replace Burti at the end of the season, but when the Brazilian heard of the move, he jumped ship to the Prost team.