Green delights in strong performances

Paul Green marked his second cap for the Republic of Ireland on Friday night with a well taken goal at the RDS. The 27-year-old gave Ireland the lead in the 30th minute and took a knock to the head for his troubles.

“I didn't really know much about it and got a nice knock for it, but I'd take a knock like that every week to get a goal for my country,” he told Extratime after the game.

The Derby County player was visibly delighted with his goal and insisted that to receive praise from his manager, Giovanni Trapattoni, in the dressing room after the game was “fantastic.”

“Yeah it was great. He just said to me 'bravo', he's not a man of many words really, but to get a compliment off your manager is fantastic.”

With two caps now under his belt Green will be looking to push into the international set-up, but he knows with so much competition in the midfield positions, he can't afford to get carried away.

“I hope so but I'm not getting ahead of myself. I was happy to just get in the training camp and onto the international scene but I must have done something right to get my chance,” he explained.

The win against Algeria capped a good week for Trapattoni's men and now after a gruelling season Green is just looking forward to taking a well deserved break.

“I enjoyed the friendlies so hopefully I can keep myself around the international scene now. It's been a tough season with an extra two weeks on top so it will be nice to just get away now.”