A HAPPIER TOON IS WAITING DAMIEN; AGONY FOR DUFF TRAP PLEDGES SUPPORT.

Byline: PAUL O'HEHIR

GIOVANNI Trapattoni insists he will do all in his power to lift devastated Damien Duff from his relegation hell.

The Ireland ace scored an own goal in Newcastle United's final league game against Aston Villa on Sunday.

That 1-0 defeat was enough to consign the Toon and the 30-year-old Dubliner to the Championship next season.

Duff insists he will remain loyal to Newcastle but there's no doubt he's gutted at the club's demise.

Still, he was one of the first players to show for training yesterday morning and spent time outside signing autographs.

Recalling the own goal, Duff said: "You think, 'why me?' but I'm a big man and I've been around for a while now. I'm going to have to get over it.

"I'll be thinking about it for a long, long time, but what can you do? That's football. You can't dwell on disappointments. You have to move on.

"The lads haven't tasted relegation apart from me at Blackburn and Nicky Butt at Birmingham.

"When it happened at Blackburn, I wasn't planning on seeing it again in my career. It's not a nice feeling. I plan on being straight back up after next season."

Duff now has to focus his attention on international duty as he joins up with his Republic of Ireland team-mates in London today.

Ireland play Nigeria in a Craven Cottage friendly on Friday - a week before the all-important World Cup qualifying trip to Bulgaria.

And Irish boss Trapattoni knows it's now his job to lift Duff who returns to the squad having missed the last two qualifiers against Italy and Bulgaria.

Trapattoni said: "The last game of the season was a very difficult one psychologically for Newcastle and Duff.

"It's very important that he comes in with us today. It's our job to give him confidence, to enjoy training and to think about the games against Nigeria and Bulgaria.

"Duff is a strong player, he is experienced but it is up to his manager to decide what happens now. I have not spoken to Damien but I will see him today."

UNLIKELY

Meanwhile, Trapattoni is unlikely to call up a replacement for striker Kevin Doyle. The injured Reading ace has been officially ruled out of both games with a calf injury.

He sustained the injury in his club's Championship play-off, semi-final defeat to Burnley - but Trap still has Robbie Keane, Shane Long, Caleb Folan and Leon Best to call on.

Trapattoni was speaking in Dublin yesterday at the launch of "An Evening with Pele". The event is part of a major fundraising drive for the Children's Medical and Research Foundation of Our Lady's Hospital Crumlin.

The Brazilian legend will be guest of honour at the Burlington Hotel on November 26.

Money raised will be divided between the Dublin-based hospital and the Little Prince Children's Hospital in Curitiba, Brazil.

Trapattoni described Pele as "a very great man who remains a good friend of mine." The pair faced each other twice in their playing days, once in a friendly game between Italy and Brazil and then for AC Milan and Santos in the first-leg of the 1963 Intercontinental Cup final.

But in that international game, Trapattoni marked Pele out of the game by keeping the prolific marksman off the scoresheet. So, what was the secret? "The secret? I was good!," laughed the 70-year-old.

"Every opponent was kicking Pele, but I always stayed with him. Not so much kick him, but stay beside him."

Asked if he believes Pele is the finest player ever to lace up a pair of boots, Trapattoni added: "It's difficult to choose. He has scored over 1,200 goals in official games.

"But there is also Maradona, Eusebio, Di Stefano and Cruyff. In my office I have the jerseys of Pele, Eusebio and Cruyff - but Pele was different."

People interested in securing tickets for 'An Evening with Pele' should see www.cmrf.org

CAPTION(S):

CLOSE FRIENDS Pele and Gio have stayed in touch since their playing days TYNE TEARS A distraught Damien Duff at Villa Park on Sunday #