Stephen Ward has told of his delight at returning to the Republic of Ireland squad.

The on-loan Albion left-back was called in by caretaker boss Noel King for friendlies against Latvia and Poland.

The matches mark the start of a new era under the management of Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane.

Ward could face his Albion understudy Vitalijs Maksimenko, who is a regular at left-back for Latvia.

A series of solid displays in the Championship have put Ward back into the international frame.

He said: “Things were a bit rough at Wolves. I was going through a bad patch and felt the effects of that by being left out of the squad.

“I’ve come down here, I’ve been playing games and it has got me back in the squad.”

Ward has won 18 caps for the Republic, three of them at Euro 2012.

Meanwhile Albion midfielder Andrew Crofts was today named in the Welsh squad for a friendly at home to Finland a week tomorrow.