Source: Daily_Mail
Andrews finding his feet after stepping up to the next level with club and country
The moment Sam Allardyce breezed through the door at Ewood Park, Republic of Ireland midfielder Keith Andrews could have been forgiven for thinking that his days at Blackburn Rovers were numbered.
This, after all, was the midfielder and former captain of League Two side MK Dons, who many believed had only stepped up into the Barclays Premier League because Rovers manager Paul Ince knew him so well.
But since the former Bolton and Newcastle boss took over from the sacked Ince, Andrews has thrived as a Rovers regular and now staked a claim for a regular place with his country.
Andrews, who scored his third of the season in Saturday's 1-1 draw with West Ham, still has just two caps to his name, but he has bagged an Ireland goal too.
At the start of Ireland's World Cup campaign Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni expected Andrews's Blackburn team-mate Steven Reid to be the key component in the qualifiers.
But Reid's latest knee injury, just after impressive performances against Georgia and Montenegro, has elevated Andrews in a squad facing the biggest week of the campaign so far with games against Bulgaria and Italy.
