Darron Gibson keen to make Republic of Ireland return

Darron Gibson

Everton midfielder Darron Gibson says he is keen to return to the Republic of Ireland fold after the recent departure of manager Giovanni Trapattoni.

Gibson made himself unavailable for international football after expressing disappointment at playing only a limited role at the Euro 2012 finals.

"I'm ready (to come back) because Trapattoni is gone," Londonderry-born Gibson told the Irish Independent.

"If I'm called up, I'll come straight back in," added the 25-year-old.

"There were people saying that I didn't deserve to put the green jersey back on, but they don't know what happened and don't know how I felt because I've never spoken about it.

"I've been thinking about this for a long time, but I did not want to disrespect the manager and say anything bad about him."

Gibson's year-long self-imposed exile from the international arena began when he withdrew from the Republic squad for a World Cup qualifier against Kazakhstan in September 2012.

Three months earlier, the midfielder went to the European Championship finals in Poland and Ukraine but was restricted to a seat on the bench as the Republic slipped to successive defeats at the hands of Croatia, Spain and Italy.