The Scout's Report

That South African stuff will take most of the focus this summer and the first Euro 2012 qualifier is still five months away but how’s the Ireland team shaping up? JOE takes a look at Ireland's first XI - as well as two from down the divisions.

Shay Given: Has started all but one of Manchester City’s 43 League and Cup games this season and is almost above criticism for club and country. Still, Joe Hart looks like going to the World Cup with England after an impressive season on loan at Birmingham, so next season could be the first time Given’s place has really been under threat.

John O’Shea: That fateful night in Paris cost Ireland a place in the World Cup finals but no one suffered more than O’Shea, who only returned to action in Manchester United’s game against Bayern Munich last week. He was rewarded with a starting place against Blackburn on Sunday but was forced off with another injury towards the end and is now a doubt for Saturday’s derby against Man City.

Kevin Kilbane: The departure of Phil Brown has given Kilbane a new lease of life at Hull, where he’s started all four Premier League games under new boss Iain Dowie. He scored his first goal in more than two years against Burnley at the weekend – but it’s not all good for the Ireland centurion. The Tigers have lost those four games, leaking four goals at home to the clearly crap Clarets, and are now four points away from safety with five games left.

Sean St Ledger: Had an unsettled first half of the season, with a move to Middlesbrough falling through and talk of a January transfer to Celtic coming to nothing. Has put that behind him well, though, starting and finishing every game since returning to Preston in December.

Richard Dunne: One of the signings of the season for Martin O’Neill but has been troubled by an Achilles injury in recent weeks and it has had an effect: he’ll be glad to have seen the back of Chelsea, who hit the net ten times against Villa over the past three weeks.

Glenn Whelan: Has retained his place in Tony Pulis’s affections despite the £3m arrival of Dean Whitehead last summer. A fine season all round, having appeared in all but five Premier League games for a Stoke side rock solid in mid-table.

Keith Andrews: Has missed the last three games with a calf injury and could have trouble regaining his place in a Blackburn team who are unbeaten in his absence and put a spanner in the works of Manchester United’s title bid at the weekend.

Liam Lawrence: Scored his first goal of the season in the win over Hull City a week and a half ago so will have been disappointed to find himself on the bench again for Sunday’s 0-0 against Wolves. Has had talks about his future with manager Pulis, but unlikely to be going anywhere in the summer as he has three years to go on his contract

Damien Duff: Instrumental in Fulham’s journey to the last four of the Europa League, Duff has played 45 games and scored nine goals so this season has been something of a rebirth following his Newcastle nightmare.

Kevin Doyle: A drab draw with Stoke pushed Wolves that bit closer to Premier League safety and Doyle has been one of the principal reasons for their likely survival. Seven goals in 30 top flight appearances might not be spectacular but it’s 25 per cent of his side’s tally and they’d hardly have stayed up without him. Mick McCarthy could face a battle to keep him this summer.

Robbie Keane: As outlined on JOE on Tuesday, Keane’s future is a great imponderable. Twelve goals in 14 appearances since moving to Celtic hints at a fine level of form but it’s hard to argue that it’s been a productive spell, with the team’s problems hitting a new low in a 2-0 Scottish Cup defeat to Ross County at the weekend.

And two from down the divisions

Joe Gamble: Has quickly become a key player for Hartlepool since swapping Cork for the north-east of England in January. A holding midfielder by trade, he opened the scoring in a 3-0 win over Stockport on Tuesday which all but secured the Pools’ place in League One for another season.

Tadhg Purcell: The former Shamrock Rovers forward was brought to Darlington by Steve Staunton in January. While Stan didn’t last much longer and the Quakers’ relegation was confirmed despite Tuesday’s win over Rochdale, Purcell has been a success, scoring eight goals in 19 games.