FOOTBALL: I won't stop trying to make Rooney see he's Irish

LEE CARSLEY loves nothing better than to play the Irish card with Wayne Rooney, the teenage whizz-kid who has taken the Premiership by storm.

Just days after England manager Sven Goran Eriksson named Rooney as his player to watch for 2003, Carsley is quick to remind the world that the brightest talent in English football also qualifies for the Republic of Ireland.

It is, he knows, a forlorn dream. Rooney has yet to play a competitive match at Under-21 or senior level for England and could, technically, throw in his lot with Ireland if FIFA relax their qualification rules later this year, as expected. In reality, Carsley doesn't expect to see Rooney in a green shirt. But it's worth a try.

"It would be great to see Wayne Rooney play for Ireland but I don't think it is going to happen," admitted Carsley, set to play for Everton against Tottenham today. "The FA have his colours nailed firmly to the England mast but I do say it to him.

"Wayne's background is Irish and he does qualify. I always tell him it would be great for him to throw in his lot with us but it's probably too late now, which is a shame."

International career guidance aside, Carsley has nothing but admiration for Rooney's talent and the way he has adjusted to life in the Premiership goldfish bowl.

"There is no way I could have coped with everything Wayne has had to cope with at just 17," added the midfield schemer.

"He reminds me so much of Damien Duff and Robbie Keane. Like Duffer and Robbie, Wayne takes everything in his stride and he has bundles of confidence.

"He deserves everything he is going to get from the game. Wayne is a great kid with a wonderful attitude. He works really hard on the training ground and he has such a great talent.

"The club and the manager have been careful to shield Wayne but it is so hard to keep him out of the limelight.

"Even when he comes on for just 15 minutes, he scores and grabs the headlines. He is just a great player in the making."

Like Rooney, Carsley has been a revelation in the Everton colours this season - after a slow start.

"It took me a month and a half to get over the World Cup," he revealed. "When I came back it took me longer than I expected to get my fitness levels back up and I was out of the team at the start of the season.

"To be fair to David Moyes, he was as good as gold with me. He told me to be patient, to take my time. There was never any suggestion of a panic and when I was right, he gave me my chance.

"He's stood by me since - I've stayed in a team that is winning games in the league and I've scored a few goals into the bargain. I'm as happy now as I have been for a long time in football."

Everton's lofty league position - above Liverpool into the bargain - certainly helps.

There may be an R in the month but for once there is no Relegation on the Carsley horizon. After years fighting the drop with Derby, Blackburn, Coventry and Everton, the Irish midfielder is finally up there at the right end of the table.

"I can't tell you how good it feels," added Carsley. "For the past five years people have been talking about me as some kind of relegation jinx.

"And, if I am honest, it does take it out of you when you are down in the drop zone, fighting against relegation week in and week out.

"This season is so different with Everton and I am enjoying every minute of it. If anybody had offered us fifth in the league at the start of the campaign we'd have bitten their hand off.

"But we are up here on merit. Anyone who has seen us play this season would have to agree with that. We have not been lucky in games, we have not been scraping results here and there.

"The FA Cup aside, we are playing good football and getting the results we deserve. If we keep it up then we can realistically think of a place in Europe. That would make it a great season."

Carsley's fortunes, like Everton's in the league, are on the up as well. And there is a common denominator in the shape of manager David Moyes, now halfway through his first full season in charge at Goodison.

"The boss has been great for me and great for the club," said Carsley. "I was gutted when Walter Smith got the sack just four weeks after I signed for him but David has turned things around here.

"The gospel he preaches is working when you look at our league position. He is getting the best out of the team and the best out of the players.

"We all want to do well for him and we genuinely deserve to be where we are in the league now."

Moyes is one of the few managers not to be linked with the vacant Irish job in recent weeks. And Carsley, like every other Republic player, is desperate to know the identity of the man who will take charge before the February friendly in Scotland.

He is also adamant that the man to replace Mick McCarthy must not give up on the Euro 2004 dream.

"We owe it to Mick to kick-start the Euro qualifying bid in the spring," claimed Carsley. "He gave so many of us our chance at international level.