Fahey still hopeful of Ireland bow

Birmingham midfielder Keith Fahey is still hoping to win a place in the Republic of Ireland squad despite being overlooked again by coach Giovanni Trapattoni.

The 27-year-old was watched by Ireland coach Trapattoni during Blues' 2-1 defeat at Fulham on Sunday, but was overlooked in favour of Wigan's James McCarthy for the friendly with Brazil next month.

But Fahey will stay patient in his attempts to impress the national boss.

He said: "It didn't know Trapattoni was at the game. I'm always hopeful, that's as far as it goes.

"I know Damien Duff scored from my side but we were actually on a break, and I was out of position. He cut inside the three of us. But I think I did all right.

"I've had no talks with Ireland. I'm just hopeful that I will get in one day. I will just try to keep doing the business here at Birmingham when I get the chance."

Fahey has challenged Blues to end their recent wobble and return to the form that made them the Premier League's surprise package.

The club remain three points short of their 40-point survival target, after winning just one of their last six top-flight matches.

Now the midfielder has reminded his team-mates they must strive to repeat the performances that gave them a 15-match unbeaten run in league action before they were beaten by Chelsea.

He said: "We need to get to 40 points, we need to kick on. We have been stumbling a bit lately, everyone knows. I don't think we played too badly at Fulham, they were just poor goals to lose.

"We would have been happy with a draw away from home. But we have to now look to Wigan at home on Saturday and get the three points.

"I'm not too sure why we've been stumbling. I think the run we went on we were probably punching a little bit above our weight, but we need to get back to around that kind of form anyway."