Pardew tips Ireland involvement

Ireland has been restricted to just two appearances due to injury

Newcastle United boss Alan Pardew has tipped Stephen Ireland to be involved in the club’s Premier League encounter with Liverpool on Sunday.

The midfielder, 24, made only his second Magpies appearance in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Blackpool, following his January loan move from Aston Villa.

“Stephen’s a little match-shy at the moment,” Pardew told BBC Newcastle.

“But we’ve got a week, and we need to see him now, so there’s a good chance he could play at Liverpool.”

Ireland, a former Republic of Ireland international, arrived at St James’ Park with a knee injury that delayed his Magpies debut, followed by a thigh injury on his return to training in March.

However an impressive cameo against Manchester United, and a near half-hour run-out at Bloomfield Road has reassured Pardew of the player’s quality.

“My view of Stephen is that he’s an outstanding quality player,” Pardew added.

“On a really horrible pitch, somebody of his technique, he kept the ball, moved it and created a couple of nice situations.

“He slowed the game down when he needed to and could have had a goal, I felt he should have shot at the end rather than set up Shola Ameobi.”