McLeish hails the spirit of Aston Villa's Blarney Army
Alex McLeish hailed the "fighting spirit" of Villa's Irish connection after the players lined up for a picture celebrating the club's very own Ireland XI.
Alex McLeish hailed the "fighting spirit" of Villa's Irish connection after the players lined up for a picture celebrating the club's very own Ireland XI.
Following the arrival of ex-Wolves striker Robbie Keane on loan from LA Galaxy, the claret and blues could field a team entirely made up of players eligible to play for the Republic.
"I think the Irish players have tremendous traits – they all have fighting spirits," said the Villa boss.
"The Irish guys are obviously catching the eye at the moment because they have a big tournament in the summer to go to.
"You look around and guys like Richard Dunne and Shay Given are household names and have been around for long time.
"But we also have some young Irish players and we hope they can emulate the likes of Richard, Shay and Robbie Keane. They have humility there in abundance.
"They have respect and all the traits you would want to have under your charge."