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With Dundalk flying the flag high for the League of Ireland in this season’s Europa League calls have emerged for some of the Lilywhites’ players to get the ultimate recognition they deserve: a call up to Martin O’Neill’s Republic of Ireland squad.
The latest squads have been named for the forthcoming games with Georgia and Moldova without the inclusion of any Dundalk players.
As reported in The Sun, ex-Republic of Ireland international Kevin Kilbane has called for Daryl Horgan to be included in the squad and believes he is more deserving of a place in the Irish set-up than his ex-teammate and 85 times capped Aiden McGeady.
“I think he deserves to be in the squad first and foremost,” Kilbane said.
“The level Dundalk are playing at is above and beyond Championship level, having watched a lot of Championship games.
“It would have been nice for Daryl Horgan to be picked because he proved again in the AZ Alkmaar game that he’s good enough to be included in the squad.”
With Robbie Brady needed at left-back and with McGeady’s career having stalled for the past number of seasons, it appears there is a place for the Galway man in O’Neill’s plans with his impressive form for champions Dundalk also unlikely to go unnoticed by scouts of watching English clubs, which could see Horgan follow the likes of Kevin Doyle and Shane Long, who made the move from League of Ireland level to the Premier League.
While Kilbane was quick not to write off McGeady altogether, he did, however, suggest that Horgan is pushing the ex-Celtic man hard for a call-up.
“Aiden has started really well and scored the goal on his debut, which always helps.
“He played really well against QPR and he is in good form.
“Hopefully he can kick on from it. He needs to play games consistently.
“He has got the experience but I don’t think he has been producing consistently enough.
“That is where you look at the likes of Daryl Horgan. McGeady’s place is in jeopardy for the performances that he has been putting in.
“Horgan has been playing consistently better than McGeady and he has been doing that over a long period of time.”
Dundalk face Maccabi Tel Aviv at Tallaght Stadium on Thursday night, where Horgan will be hoping his flying form continues resulting in O’Neill keeping him in mind for future squads once Dundalk’s fixture headache recedes – the original reason the Northern Irishman left him out of the current squad.
‘He would certainly have made the provisional squad’ – Horgan misses out due to Dundalk schedule, says Martin O’Neill. #rtesoccer pic.twitter.com/HkwbgmItr5
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) September 23, 2016
Damien McEvoy, Pundit Arena
