Alex McLeish has been handed some good news ahead of the Chelsea game on Saturday with Stephen Ireland being declared fit.
Ireland could feature in the Barclays Asia Trophy Final, having been rested during the Semi-Final win over Blackburn Rovers as a precaution, having come off late in the first half against Walsall in an earlier friendly with a ‘tight’ hamstring.
McLeish has backed Ireland to make an impact this season following his loan spell at Newcastle Utd during the second half of the last campaign.
McLeish said of the news – ‘Stephen is ready to participate in this game.
‘We left him out the other night as a precaution. He was almost ready.
‘He wanted to be involved but we felt at this stage in the preparation, it was right to keep him for the final game of the tour.
‘Fortunately for us, it’s the final itself which Stephen is now available for. He could start.’
You can watch Stephen Ireland and the rest of the team in their bid to win the tournament on Saturday at 1.30pm on Sky Sports.
Lets not forget that the year we won the Peace Cup we then went on to play at Wembley twice later that season, but I think McLeish would be the first to point out that the priority of this tournament was always going to be to get the players fit ahead of the campaign. Still be nice to win it though.
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