Glenn Whelan is the glue that can hold Ireland’s Euros push together.
That’s according to manager Mick McCarthy who turned back time this week by elevating the veteran midfielder to first-team status.
When Whelan, 35, was handed the armband in the November bore draw with Northern Ireland, it was billed as his farewell game.
A reluctant interviewee in recent years, the Aston Villa man was wheeled out in front of the media before that game.
But while others were interpreting it to be his last appearance in a green shirt, Whelan insisted he would never retire.
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Had Martin O’Neill still been in charge, Whelan would not have been in the squad for the wins over Gibraltar and Georgia.
But McCarthy immediately reinstated him and while not involved against Gibraltar - as expected - he played a leading role against Georgia on Tuesday.
And away to Denmark in June, the smart money is on McCarthy turning to the 86-time midfield shield once again.
“What do I like about him? I like his ability, his durability, his organisation, just his experience, he played that position brilliantly against Georgia,” said McCarthy.
“I thought some of his passes were excellent. He got us playing. And he plays regularly with Conor (Hourihane) and that was always in my mind.
“It’s nice to have a couple of partnerships, we haven’t got many on the pitch. And organisationally he was very good, vocally helping the players around him.
“And he should do because he’s a very experienced lad and you would want him to be talking to them. I said to him that’s his job.
“Despite the fact we’re all shouting onto the pitch we can’t organise it all the time, it’s up to the players to do it.”
McCarthy was initially under the impression that Whelan had in fact called time on his Ireland career.
But the Clondalkin man didn’t have to be asked back twice after McCarthy phoned before Christmas to say he would have a role.
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The Ireland boss added: “I put him in my initial squad and I knew I was going to have to play the way I played on Tuesday.
“I was never going to play 4-4-2 against Georgia - we would have got bashed, they would have had the ball, we never would have got it off them.
“We had to catch them up and we were better than them. I thought he would play 90-minutes because he’s in great shape.
“That’s testimony to him and how he has looked after himself. He’s playing for Aston Villa and in fact was the one that was going better than all the others.”
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