Frustrated Jim Crawford admits that doubt remains over Mipo Odubeko's international future as he will not be involved in the Ireland under-21s upcoming European Championship qualifiers.
Crawford's squad face Bosnia on September 3 and Luxembourg four days later, but the Dubliner has confirmed that West Ham starlet Odubeko won't be named in his squad on Friday for the two away fixtures.
Born in Dublin, Odubeko has played for Ireland's under-17s but he also qualifies for Nigeria and the FA have also been investigating whether the striker is eligible for England, where he has lived for six years.
On his selection, Crawford said: "There'll be a few surprises, we'll be bringing in a couple of younger players who could still potentially play for the under-19s, which is exciting.
"What makes the news is players who miss out and I had a lot of really difficult decisions with players who were involved in the last two camps, it's not easy but it has to be done.
"But what could be the biggest talking point is Mipo from West Ham, where Mipo has got a decision to make.
"He's got a choice, and our lines of communication will always be open, but he won't be involved in this camp.
"But probably what we should be talking about is the players who are involved."
Crawford had previously claimed that Ireland could be losing a new Robbie Keane if Odubeko commits elsewhere.
But he said: "You look at the likes of Ryan Johansson who fought tooth and nail to be part of the under-21s and that's the type of player you need in the building, players who are proud to put on the jersey and will work as hard as they can to make sure the team can achieve as much as they possibly can in the up and coming campaign."
Crawford is hoping to see the rewards of months of hard work, starting with the three friendly games the 21s had in Spain at the start of the summer, pay off in the coming weeks.
"From that Spain camp to now there's been a lot of work in terms of watching games and getting the squad right for what will be two seriously competitive games that will be a real test for us," he said.
The under-21 supremo said he has impressed with the ambition displayed by the likes of Will Ferry and Tyreik Wright, who have gone on loan to Crawley and Salford respectively, for game time.
"And they're playing, which is great," said Crawford.
"It shows me that they understand that playing where something's at stake will accelerate their development, and that they also want to qualify for the under-21 finals.
"They understand to play in these tournaments is excellent for their development. There's been a really good culture developed, so things are moving nicely."
Fixtures - UEFA European Under-21 Championship Group F qualifiers (all times are Irish times)
Friday, September 3 | Bosnia & Herzegovina U21 v Republic of Ireland U21, FF BH Football Training Centre, Zenica, Bosnia & Herzegovina, KO: 3.30pm
Tuesday, September 7 | Luxembourg U21 v Republic of Ireland U21, Stade Jos Nosbaum, Dudelange, Luxembourg, KO: 3pm
