Republic of Ireland boss Stephen Kenny insists he has not lost any of his belief in vice-captain Shane Duffy.

The 28-year-old, who joined Celtic on a season-long loan from Albion in September, was left out of the starting line-up for the Scottish champions' 4-1 win at Motherwell yesterday, three days after their 4-1 home loss to Sparta Prague in the Europa League.

Kenny was asked if he has faith in Duffy ahead of their upcoming games against England in a friendly on Thursday at Wembley, plus their Nations League matches away to Wales on Sunday and at home to Bulgaria three days later.

To which the Ireland boss responded he believes in the defender and noted how key he has been for his country. 

He said: "I have a list that my fitness coach and analyst compiled in relation to the amount of minutes and games our players have played.

"Shane Duffy has played, from starting the first game for me in Bulgaria (in September), 18 games in that period (prior to the Motherwell match).

"He didn't play (from the start) yesterday, he came on at the end (in the 78th minute). That's fine. Maybe he needed a rest.

"We'll have a look - I'll see how he comes in, I'll chat to him and see how he is.

"But if you're asking me, have I got faith in Shane, I definitely do. I believe in him.

"I think his performances for Ireland overall, (under) three different managers, have been to a very high standard and I think we should appreciate him."