Hughes hails Given

After playing the full 120 minutes of the Republic of Ireland's dramatic extra time defeat to France on Wednesday, Given faced the agony of missing out on a place on the 2010 World Cup finals in South Africa.

And now the shot-stopper must get his head together in time for City's Barclays Premier League match with Liverpool on Saturday.

Manager Hughes knows just how Given will feel, having felt similar international pain himself.

As a player, the Manchester City coach was part of the Wales side that lost out on a place at the 1994 World Cup because of Paul Bodin's missed penalty.

Then, as manager, Hughes failed to mastermind a play-off win over Russia that would have secured qualification for Euro 2004.