Kinsella trusts in the green effect to fill the Villa void

The frustration felt by Mark Kinsella is palpable. A World Cup player, the captain of his club, a man touted as a possible leader of his national team. And, suddenly, he is in the reserves. And not only in the reserves but, in one game earlier this month, the oldest player by a decade.

Aged 30, having made a big move both professionally and personally by uprooting his family to the West Midlands when Aston Villa came calling after his exploits last summer, playing alongside teen- agers in front of a handful of fans is not where he would want to be.

"I love it at Villa," he maintained. "I moved my whole family up there and everybody is settled. I started all the games until Christmas, when I picked up an injury, so it is only since then that I've been in and out." But he added: "The reserves is not something I have been used to because I have played 14 years as a regular, so when you are not playing it is frustrating.

"You want to play week in, week out, and I haven't been doing that. I just work harder, and it's good to be here because it's a break from the day-to-day routine."

"Here", of course, is in the middle of the Republic of Ireland's make-or-break double-header against Georgia and Albania. The 10 days together may help the team bond, but Kinsella admitted it had been demanding.

The Irish are staying in the Marriott Hotel in the most comfortable – and safe – part of the Georgian capital, Tbilisi. It is a sumptuous base – although bullet holes on the outside wall betray a more turbulent past. Normally the players would venture out on organised trips. But here, where kidnap threats are real and an air of disorganisation, verging on lawlessness, prevails, journeys are confined to the training ground.

"We met up on Monday and have been killing time ever since," Kinsella said before yesterday's game against Georgia. "We stay in the hotel, go out and train." Personal DVD players are the new toy for most professional footballers, with hours to fill between the routine. Card games are not discouraged. "Most of us were in the World Cup, and there are a few who have been in squads before, so there is a good team spirit and no one sits in their own room and doesn't get involved."

One sad event that has forged closer links is the death of Robbie Keane's father, Robert. Keane will meet up with the Irish squad tomorrow in Tirana ahead of Wednesday's game, and Kinsella said: "There are a lot of people who were close to his family."

Kinsella, like Keane, is a Dubliner, and started his career with Home Farm before moving to Colchester. A proven reputation for hard work earned him a move to Charlton Athletic, where he became captain. When he returned there with Villa – only his third appearance this year – it ended in defeat but Kinsella was welcomed.

"The reception I got was tremendous. It took me six years to get that reception," he said.

It was at Charlton he won his first cap, in 1998. He has now made 36 appearances, most memorably during the World Cup. "It means a lot to put on the green jersey," he said. "With me not playing with the Villa, it is an added pressure to put in good performances. I've played in one World Cup, and when it comes to big championships I want to be at them all."

It was in the Far East that he slipped seamlessly alongside Matt Holland in central midfield following the departure of Roy Keane. The pair performed so well that when Graham Taylor was reshaping his Villa team he wanted to take them both, although only Kinsella moved.

They are similar characters and took personal responsibility for the débâcle of Ireland's home defeat against Switzerland – "Lansdowne Road was our fortress," said Kinsella – and the capitulation in Moscow. "Compared to what we had done in the past, it was not up to scratch," Kinsella said. The determination is there to put it right: "If we lose I don't go home and laugh about it – it kills me." It is a determination he has carried throughout.