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STEPHEN BRADLEY hopes Jack Byrne could be back in action this week as Shamrock Rovers prepare for Friday’s trip to champions Shelbourne.

The Hoops’ game on Sunday with Cork City was rained off.

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This week is a double-header, with Rovers travelling to Shels on Friday and to Sligo Rovers on Monday.

And Bradley hopes that the extra few days will refresh his players, who are still recovering from the exertions of three matches in eight days following the Conference League clashes with Molde.

But the Hoops chief revealed that Byrne, who missed the start of the season with a knee injury, and Rory Gaffney — on the comeback trail after ten months out with an ankle problem — are close to returning.

Bradley said: “We go Friday and Monday so it’s a heavy week.

“We have to be careful with that, coming off a heavy week. Some players will need more work than others.

“Our three midfielders covered 15km against Molde, which is a heavy load for any player.

“We have to be careful with them three. Jack and Rory need to be pushed and we’ll do that this week.”

Gaffney was set for a place on the bench for Sunday’s postponed fixture against City.

However, Danny Mandroiu, Adam Matthews, Darragh Nugent and Trevor Clarke remain sidelined.

Graham Burke — who was also set to be on the bench last weekend — is fit for the Shels match after limping off against Molde.

And Bradley believes that a clash with the champions is the perfect way to return to league action after the disappointment of the Conference League elimination.

He said: “It’s frustrating. We did enough over both legs. I watched it back and we did the review of the stats.

“We did enough to go through but we didn’t take our chances and we gave away a terrible goal.

“It’s frustrating but it was a sore one on Thursday. You are still thinking about the game on Friday and what could’ve been.

“But we just didn’t do enough over the two legs to go through.

“We know what to expect from Shels, what type of game it’s going to be. We have to be ready. It will be a tough one.”

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WHAT’S better than unwinding at the end of a long day with a glass of wine, your favourite TV show on and a candle in the background?

If you love your home smelling nice, then you may wish to plan a trip to the nearest ASDA, where thrifty shoppers have spotted posh Yankee candles going for as little as 28p.

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One lucky customer, Tiff Wing, took to Facebook to inform fellow bargain hunters about the scent-sational deal.

According to Tiff, who showed off her mega haul on the popular Extreme Couponing and Bargains UK group, ASDA has now slashed the prices of the cult favourite Yankee products.

Before the fabulous sale, a large Yankee candle would set you back an eye-watering £16 depending on the scent – however, Tiff managed to snap up a whopping dozen for over ten times less.

The ASDA customer, who paid just £1.20 for each of the iconic candles, got her hands on several gorgeous scents, including lavender – which is perfect if you want to relax.

Bargain-mad shoppers can also snap up the posh candle in Soft Cotton, which boasts an impressive five-star rating online, and Vanilla Frosting.

Meanwhile, if you’re on the lookout for something even cheaper, it’s worth checking out Yankees melts – which are now going for a mere 28p.

Elsewhere, these retail for a whopping £3.75, so shoppers are saving more than £3 – it’s really a deal you shouldn’t be sleeping on.

All chuffed with the jaw-dropping haul, which included dive melts and 12 huge candles, Tiff revealed in her post that the total costs came to just £15.80.

Not only is this less than a single large Yankees candle, but they’re also bound to last Tiff ages, as one such candle burns up to a whole 150 hours.

Since being shared on the popular page, the post has taken the internet by storm, racking up close to 90 likes and 76 comments.

Dozens flooded to tag their friends and family, as one exclaimed: ”Score!”

”There’s so many bargains,” another chimed in.

However, it appears that not only is this deal not available online but also only at a few selected stores, as some claimed they struggled to find the cut-price goodies.

”OMG I went in this morning + saw nothing,” moaned a bargain hunter.

Another had the same experience, commenting: ”In my ASDA, they’re full price.”

”It’s so strange how it’s not all asdas even though it’s the same stock,” a shopper wrote.

Whatever you’re buying, it’s always a good idea to shop around to find the best deal.

You can compare prices on websites like Google shopping, which is a tool that lets users search for and compare prices for products across the web.

Idealo is another website that lets you compare prices between retailers.

All shoppers need to do is search for the item they need and the website will rank them from the cheapest to the most expensive one.

OLIVIER GIROUD always wished to finish his career in  California — but life has not quite been the dream he imagined so far.

The Frenchman suits Los Angeles, sitting in the sun after training at LAFC’s impressive facility, east of the beaches and palm trees of America’s West Coast.

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But Giroud has faced an awful lot of challenges since arriving from AC Milan last summer.

A number of LAFC team-mates and staff were put on evacuation alert during January’s devastating wildfires which destroyed more than 18,000 homes.

The club have helped raise funds to support those who were displaced, while striker Giroud has donated possessions.

There have been powercuts, earthquakes and the Giroud family home was even burgled earlier this month.

Giroud said: “Since I arrived in LA last summer, we had three power outages in five days of ten, 12 and 15 hours.

“There was a massive earthquake when we were at the training ground. There were all the fires. It was a really sad situation. People lost everything.

“We thank the first responders and firefighters who did an amazing job. It made me really sad. I was scared.

“I also had a personal bad experience. Hopefully, there will be better days up front. It’s part of life.

“Sometimes you have great days and sometimes tough moments.

“It was a wish to finish here in the US and to give this opportunity to my kids to discover another way of life.”

Giroud's career by numbers

Here is a look at Oliver Giroud's career...

Grenoble, 2005–2008

• Appearances – 26
• Goals – 2

Istres, 2007–2008 loan

• Appearances – 34
• Goals – 14

Tours, 2008–2010 and 2010 loan

• Appearances – 69
• Goals – 38

Montpellier, 2010–2012

• Appearances – 85
• Goals – 39

Arsenal, 2012–2018

• Appearances – 253
• Goals – 105

Chelsea, 2018–2021

• Appearances – 119
• Goals – 39

AC Milan – 2021–2024

• Appearances – 132
• Goals – 49

Los Angeles FC

• Appearances – 21
• Goals – 2

Honours:

Ligue 1 x1, FA Cup x4, Champions League x1, Europa League x1, Serie A x1, US Open Cup x1, Fifa World Cup x1, 

Despite all the challenges, Giroud is fully embracing California and Major League Soccer.

The 38-year-old, who started out with French side Grenoble two decades ago and has taken in London and Milan along his journey, is more than content with life — despite a dramatic six months.

He added: “It reminds me a bit of London. I lived nine years in  London and I really enjoy this city. You can do a lot of things with the family. Plus you have the ocean side, which is really nice. It’s a bit far from Europe but I like the lifestyle and visiting other parts of the US.

“I brought the family to different places in California, but I really want to go to Hawaii and San Francisco. I took them to Las Vegas, San Diego. Maybe also New York, if I can, for a break.

“It’s sunny almost every single day. You feel far from home, like on holiday every single day. It’s not holiday time yet but maybe in a couple of years.

“I’m really here to bring my experience to the team and to keep playing to win.

“I’m a competitor and I said I’m coming in MLS to always give my best and achieve.”

One sticking point of his new life in LA is keeping up with events back in the Premier League.

As Giroud says, “it is a long way from Europe”, with English early games on a Saturday kicking off at 4.30am here.

That has, at least, allowed him to sleep through some of Arsenal‘s recent struggles. But despite the Gunners looking like falling short of a title once again, Giroud’s confidence in former team-mate Mikel Arteta is unshakeable.

Giroud said of Arsenal’s Spanish manager: “He’s done a great job in the last few years.

“I would say in a different style, but in a continuity of what Arsene Wenger did.

“He’s had time to make the team improve, to set up his ideas.  He’s one of the best managers in Europe now.

“He’s shown it. He brought Arsenal back to the top of the league, almost. I would love to see them win the title.

“Mikel will never give up. I wish them to win.”

One of the biggest factors holding Arsenal back has been their lack of a No 9.

But France’s all-time top scorer with 57 goals, who also bagged 105  for the Gunners, did not consider a Thierry Henry-style return to North London from MLS.

He said: “No, I’m getting old! I’ll turn 39 soon.”

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SINCE Johnny Giles stepped down as manager 45 years ago, Ireland have played 261 competitive games.

Only once has a successor of his opted to start a League of Ireland player in a fixture that mattered.

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That was Eoin Hand in his first game in charge against Holland back in 1980 as Pierce O’Leary of Shamrock Rovers partnered his brother David in defence.

Only four others, Pat Byrne, Jacko McDonagh, Liam Buckley and Jack Byrne, all from the Hoops, have been used off the bench when points were at stake.

The younger Byrne is the only one to have featured since 1985.

A further nine players — drawn from Rovers, Dundalk, Limerick, Bohemians, Shelbourne and Cork City — have been used in friendlies.

It amounts to 14 home-based footballers collecting 31 caps between them in 432 games over almost a half-century.

And there were exceptional circumstances around several of those.

Three of the 14 caps awarded by Hand came during the 1982 tour of South and Central America when many English clubs refused to release their players because of the ongoing Falklands War.

The couple won by Joe Gamble in 2007 were in matches in which Ireland brought such a depleted squad to the US under Steve Staunton that even American college student Joe Lapira collected a cap.

Jack Byrne’s two appearances under Stephen Kenny came during an international window which saw 13 of his original squad of 26 ruled out through Covid-19, injury or suspension.

Byrne had previously played twice under Mick McCarthy, who then underlined his high opinion of the midfielder by signing him for APOEL Nicosia.

But that is the sort of absentee list which has people cracking jokes about how someone would only get picked if the team bus crashed.

By any measured analysis it is a fact that, irrespective of who is in charge, if you wish to play senior international football on a regular basis, you need to leave these shores.

But, although Heimir Hallgrimsson may not care what people say about him, he has learned the opposite is not true.

Shamrock Rovers’ supremo Stephen Bradley took the occasion of the first League of Ireland match taking place in the Aviva Stadium, the home of the international team, to take issue with some pre-Christmas comments by the Icelander.

Bradley’s criticism was initially due to appear in the match programme for their league opener against Bohemians.

But, after his notes were omitted in what was said to have been an inadvertent error, he revisited the theme in his post-match press conference.

Bradley said: “We have got an international manager telling my players to leave to have a chance to play for Ireland.

“That’s incredibly disrespectful to me, the league and everyone who works in this league.

“They will give you soundbites but I think that really shows what they feel about the league.

“We are trying to grow a league, entice players to stay here long, and improve in every aspect.

“And that comes out of the Ireland manager’s mouth. It is incredible. Put yourself in our position, you are trying to recruit players and sign players and that is the message coming from the head of Irish football.

“Imagine you are an agent sitting with your player — ‘You can stay here but if you go there you have a chance of getting into the international squad’. That’s not right.”

‘EASIER TO PICK THEM’

Bradley also chastised the media for not taking issue with Hallgrimsson’s comments.

But, while one aspect of that might have been a belief that the Boys in Green chief was simply reflecting reality, another was that his answer when asked about the Hoops the day after their 3-0 win over Bosnian champions Borac was not entirely clear.

At least Giovanni Trapattoni, with vastly inferior English, left nobody in any doubt about what he felt when he said, ‘There is no league in Ireland’.

Hallgrimsson said: “Good players, impressive performance, two or three really good performances. I’m not going to count the names. It would put pressure on the players or me.

“But it is obviously good if they are playing well all season.

“It would be easier to pick them if they are playing regularly before the national team comes together.

“I’m pretty sure a lot of teams in Europe are watching them and asking ‘Who are these guys, going this far, doing this good in the tournament?’

“So probably there is a lot of scouting on those players at the moment so hopefully they will get career change from this success.”

Clearly, they were playing regularly during their unprecedented European run which came to an end in agonising fashion last Thursday with a penalty shootout defeat to Molde.

So presumably he meant ‘at a higher level’ and the follow-up paragraph seems to back that up.

But, for the immediate future, the only dividend players are likely to receive from Rovers’ European exploits is to their finances rather than their international chances.

ON THE OUTSIDE

Johnny Kenny — back at Celtic after his loan move — will not enter the conversation until he features more regularly.

Neil Farrugia joined Barnsley on a 2½-year deal while Darragh Burns moved to Grimsby Town on a contract which runs to the summer of 2028 rather than make his loan move from MK Dons permanent.

With the greatest respect, neither is likely to feature in an Ireland squad unless they climb another rung or two on the football ladder, either with their new clubs or through a subsequent move. Burns is now plying his trade in League Two and Farrugia is now in League One.

Ireland rarely cap players from England’s third and fourth tiers.

The most recent examples, Jason Knight and James McClean, were already established internationals with considerable club experience at a higher level.

And, although Rovers’ run has helped lift the League of Ireland to 31st in the Uefa coefficient table, that is still below its highest ranking of 29, in 2010.

Cracking the top 30 again — and staying there this time — will be a tough ask and, despite being in the doldrums, our national team is still ranked higher, at 28th.

If we accept the Championship is a higher standard, then the Scottish Premiership — which lies 14th — was the lowest-ranked league to provide players in Liam Scales, Adam Idah and Jamie McGrath to Ireland last year.

Of course, the European runs enjoyed by both Celtic and Rovers expose both teams to higher-level opposition than they face in domestic competition.

That point was made by Stephen Kenny when asked about Bradley’s comments late last week.

He also reframed the philosophical debate into a more pragmatic one, as to whether the League of Ireland could provide the solution for a problematic position for Ireland.

Only twice — for a combined total of 20 minutes in a crisis — did he, as an international manager, conclude yes.

Neither his elevation, nor that of Brian Kerr — also deeply rooted within the League of Ireland — to the biggest job in Irish football resulted in any larger presence of home-based players in the international squad.

They probably did a better job, though, of managing the age-old disconnect between the two.

Hallgrimsson can probably be trained to avoid offending sensibilities again easily enough.

But bridging the gap to the international team will require a lot more effort.

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