Source: FOOTYMAD
O'Dea worried he may have to leave
Darren O'Dea does not want to leave celtic but he has international ambitions which may drive him away Darren O'Dea may have to leave Parkhead if he wants to play international football in the future. That is the stark choice O'Dea figures he faces after being part of the Republic of Ireland side who beat Scotland 1-0 in Dublin on Sunday night to claim the inaugural Carling Nations Cup. Saturday sees Giovanni Trapattoni's men play Macedonia away in a crucial Euro 2012 qualifierand O'Dea is keen to keep his place in the manager's eye. Of course, international managers like to pick players who are regularly in first team action and O'Dea confesses he has no idea what the future holds for him right now at Parkhead. He remains keen to stay with the club and hold down a first-team place under Neil Lennon next season. However, following time spent at Ipswich on loan, which was extended until the end of the season, O'Dea has yet to discover whether he still has a part to play at Parkhead next season. He said: "I will go back to Celtic but whether I'm there at the start of the season, I don't know. It's a fantastic club and one that anyone would be privileged to play for. At the end of the day, with internationals like this, I need to be playing club football every week. I will assess that when I go back for pre-season. If I play at Celtic, there is no other place I would want to be. But if I'm not going to play, we need to look elsewhere. I'm going to have to move if I don't play. I'm a fan of Celtic and I've been there for several years now and there is no other place I would rather play. But it is about playing, it's not about sitting on a bench and not being part of things anymore." O'Dea will wait to see if Lennon's future at Parkhead is secured with a new contract before approaching him about his own position. The centre-half said: "When I went back, he had a league and a cup to think about so it wasn't the time or the place to speak to him then. But there is plenty of time over the summer and I will be back in pre-season so I will see what happens. I don't know where I will be at the start of the season." Robbie Keane scored the only goal of the game against Scotland to bring his tally to 49 international goals, as the Republic claimed the silverware from a tournament which also saw them romp to a 5-0 win over Northern Ireland, as well as a 3-0 victory over Wales in their opener in February. The meeting with Craig Levein's men provided the toughest test of the three games and, according to O'Dea, sets the Republic up nicely for this weekend's game against Macedonia. He said: "It wasn't the prettiest game but we won and we kept a clean-sheet so we are all delighted about that. It was very good preparation because the big one is on Saturday and it's nice to leave on a winning note. Hopefully we can carry it on into Saturday's game."
