Europen Cup Final
08.05.1998 at 19:00 - McDiarmid Park , Perth
Ireland Youths boss Brian Kerr last night called for a halt to the player drain to English and Scottish clubs.
Kerr, whose side meet Italy in the European Youths Championship Final in Scotland tomorrow night, has also called for a greater level of financial investment in Youths Football from the powers that be.
"We have the weeding out and trial process in place in Ireland," said Kerr last night.
"The system is in place and we do not tend to miss too much but we need to get the young players into the League of Ireland instead.
"The more work we do in the identification of players, spotting the talent and so on, the easier it becomes for the big English and Scottish clubs to keep the player drain going in the one direction," he said.
"This has got to be curtailed and if we can get these kids to play in the League of Ireland it would certainly improve the standards at home.
"It would be foolish to suggest that we can stop this player drain altogether but even if we can curtail it, it world help the domestic game."
Kerr has just one or two niggling injuries to his side as they prepare to face Italy, their first ever European decider.
Manchester United's Kevin Grogan has a slight wrist injury and right-winger Brendan McGill has a slight groin strain but Kerr expects them to be given the all-clear today.
The Irish boss said that the response of the media and of the Irish support at home proved to him what his side had achieved in Scotland.
"It's going to be a very special occasion for us. We have gone through some lean times in the past but this is a big breakthrough for us in terms of achievement," added Kerr, who also called for future investment in Youths football and a tie-up between football and education.
"This has got to come from the top but it would be nice if we could combine the football with the player's educational needs at a sensitive time for them."
Kerr called on the FAI to take a look at the broader picture and he said that despite Ireland's superb run to tomorrow night's final, they were lagging behind some European countries in this age bracket.
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