Randolph feared for Ireland place

Ireland goalkeeper Darren Randolph says he joined Middlesbrough because he feared he would lose his international place without regular-first team football.

The 30-year-old signed a four-year deal with the Championship club after completing his £5m move from West Ham on Saturday.

The Bray native will be first choice at the Riverside, following the departures of former Barcelona and Spain goalkeeper Victor Valdes and former United States international Brad Guzan after Boro's relegation from the Premier League last season.

Randolph, who has been Ireland manager Martin O'Neill's first-choice goalkeeper since coming on a substitute for Shay Given in his country's historic 1-0 Euro 2016 qualifier victory over Germany in October 2015, says he was told by West Ham boss Slaven Bilic that England goalkeeper Joe Hart would be his No 1 next season at the London Stadium.

"I wasn't going to hang around and warm the bench," Randolph told BBC Tees.

"It's a World Cup year, the Republic of Ireland have a good position in the group and if I have any kind of dreams to play in the World Cup then I need to be playing games.

"It was made clear that it wouldn't happen so often if I stayed at West Ham, so I wasn't going to just sit on the bench and take up a place and possibly miss out on chance to play at a World Cup.

"I had to do what that was best for me and that happens in football, so I had to leave."

Ireland sit second behind Serbia on goal difference in World Cup qualifying Group D, with 12 points from six matches, four points ahead of Wales in third and Austria in fourth.

Photo Getty Images/Ian MacNicol

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