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The
keeper, signed from Newcastle United on Sunday, has lined up with the
Blues’ skipper on many occasions for the Republic of Ireland and he is
fulsome in his praise of his new City team mate.
“Dunnie is one
of the best centre-halves I have ever played behind,” Shay declares,
“and it will be a bit strange to play with him at club level having
only done so for Ireland before. He’s a fantastic player.
“He’s
dropped me the odd text over the last few days, and it was good to hook
up with him. We go back over a few years with the Irish squad and we
know each other well.”
The relationship between keeper and
central defender is a key one, as Shay continues, “I’ll need to get to
know the rest of the lads here and work with them as well, but the
centre half & goalkeeper is quite an important partnership. Richard
and I have played together a lot for Ireland, and hopefully we’ll
improve on that as well.”
The Irish connection does not stop there, of course, and Shay has joined the chorus of voices praising Stephen Ireland.
He
adds: “Stephen has been at the top of his game. He is a fantastic
talent. What with Stephen, Richard and myself being here then (Republic
boss) Mr Trappatoni may be coming to our stadium a bit more often!”
At
32, Shay is convinced his best years lay before him, and he looks to
the example set by a predecessor of his at City, David James, as to how
long he wants to be performing in top gear.
“David is still
flying at 38 or 39, he and Brad Friedel probably had the best seasons
of their career last year. That gives me encouragement because I feel I
am relatively young for a goalkeeper, although I have been around for
quite a while.
“I do feel that the best years are still ahead of me, there’s always room for improvement and that’s what I am aiming for.”
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