Fooball: GIVENS: BOYS DON GOOD, BUT IT'S TIME FOR CHANGE

DON Givens is looking forward to the beginning of a new era at Under-21 level for the Republic of Ireland.

The 2-0 victory over Russia at Waterford on Friday marked the end of the road for some of Givens' youngsters as he plans to ring the changes for the final European Championship qualifier in Switzerland next month.

The Under-21 boss believes the future looks bright for Ireland and is confident that senior manager Brian Kerr will benefit from the players coming through.

He said: "We couldn't qualify and for a lot of the boys this was probably their last game. I am going to change the squad around for the match in Switzerland and introduce some of the new boys, so it was important for those boys to finish on a high.

"It's a fresh era and when you look down the line we have got a good conveyor belt of talent coming and we need to keep that going up to Brian Kerr.

"Sean Thornton is still available for another two years, and there are the likes of Stephen Elliot, Stephen Brennan and Stephen Kelly. Brian knows these boys well and he will have seen in this match what they are capable of, and you'd like to think he might look in this direction when he needs more players."

Coventry striker Graham Barrett marked his 25th cap by giving Ireland a deserved 65th-minute lead and also had a big hand in the second goal after 81 minutes which went in off Russian substitute Anton Rogotchi.

The victory avenged the defeat in Moscow a year ago, and Givens admitted: "It's nice to end the home part of the campaign on a positive note and when you beat Russia it is always good."

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