Daryl: Like the Murphys, I'm not bitter
Sunderland striker Daryl Murphy has revealed his disappointment at discovering he had been dropped from the Republic of Ireland squad through the media.
The 26-year-old has been involved in international boss Giovanni Trapattoni’s plans for much of his time in charge to date.
However, after making the squad on several occasions this season and being included on the bench for the World Cup qualifiers against Georgia and Montenegro in September, he was left out of the initial party of 26 named for the games against Bulgaria and Italy over the next few days.
While that has simply served to increase his determination to win a return, Murphy has admitted it was tough to learn of his omission through television and the newspapers.
He told the Sunderland Echo: “I know they are not obliged to speak to us when we are not selected, but communication is a big thing and it would have been nice to get a quick call.
“As it was, the first I knew was when the squad was announced in the papers and on the telly.
“It is disappointing. Playing for your country is the biggest honour in football and I have been pretty much third-choice striker for Ireland in the last few squads.
“I don’t really see that I have done anything wrong, so I don’t know why I’m not involved this time.
“I’m not going to sulk about it and I would go and play for Ireland any time at the drop of a hat.
“But it would have been good to be told that I wasn’t going to be in these squads and why.”
Meanwhile, club-mate Anthony Stokes, who is currently on loan at Crystal Palace, was last night drafted into the squad following the withdrawal of Damien Duff with a hamstring injury.
