Pardew reckons Trap should give Best another go

Newcastle boss Alan Pardew has weighed into the debate about the Irish strikers and he reckons his boy, Leon Best deserves a chance.

Best has not had a sniff of the green jersey since coming on as a sub in the home play-off defeat to France almost two years ago and despite being in fine form for the Magpies, Trap has not given Best a shout.

The Italian watched Best play in Newcastle’s 2-1 win over Wolves but felt the striker still needed to do more to get a call-up to the international team.

But Pardew, who has guided Newcastle to fourth in the Premier League table, thinks the 26-year-old deserves another shot.

Pardew said of Trapattoni's assessment of Best: "That did surprise me. I thought he played very, very well that day [at Wolves] and I thought he worked very hard for the team. We have got contrasting views on that, and I think if he picked Leon Best, he might be surprised.

"They have got some good strikers, to be fair to the manager, and he picks who he wants. But in my book at the moment, Leon Best is playing very, very well and working hard."

With Robbie probably out, and Kevin Doyle suspended for the first-leg, any normal manager would be giving Best, scorer of three goals this season, a call but Trap is no ordinary manager.

However, if Best keeps his form up, surely he will come back into the international fold. Right?