McCann misses out on Irish squad

Players born in 1986, the year before Chris was born, are still able to play in Under-21 games but manager Don Givens has explained that they are now taking a look at younger players ahead of the next European Championships qualifying campaign which begins in September next year.

Givens said: "We are still entitled to play the group of players born in 1986 but we have decided to go with the younger group as part of the build-up to the next campaign. A lot of these players have been involved before, so I expect it should be a smooth transition."

The squad includes six players from Championship clubs, namely Stephen Henderson (Bristol City), Shane Redmond (Nottingham Forest), Darren Dennehy (Cardiff), Owen Garvan (Ipswich), Michael Spillane (Norwich) and Sean Scannell (Crystal Palace).