Likely Celtic manager Neil Lennon,(left), is focusing heavily on Irish international players as he tries to rebuild.

Republic of Ireland internationals Sean St Ledger, Liam Lawrence, Paul Green and Steven Reid have all been linked with moves to Celtic. Irish Under-21 manager, Don Givens thinks that is a smart move.

“Managers often go down the road of bringing in players that they know and they trust,” Givens told the Scottish Herald . “They need players that they know will have the right work ethic because that is something that can be a little bit of a problem if you sign foreign players.

“If you don’t do your homework, you might find that he might not view the game the same way that you do. By looking at the Republic of Ireland boys, you know that they will have the right ethic and that is what Neil will be looking for.”

“If you are starting to put a squad in place, and you know that the attitude is right, then you can start working on getting the tactics and the shape of the team right. The attitude has to be right to give yourself half a chance.

“If you send out a squad and you know that they are going to give you everything and show good character, it means a lot to you as a manager. It means that you are getting the maximum out of them straight away. That is a huge benefit to you.”

Give says th elinks already forged at Irish international level make it much easier for new players to fit in. “That is always a big help when you move clubs,” Givens said. “If there are one or two there who can introduce you to the team and guide you for a while, it can really help you. Any guys that do come in will obviously know Darren O’Dea and Aiden McGeady from the national squad and that can only be a good thing.”