West Brom goalkeeper Dean Kiely insists he would have been "foolish" to turn down the chance to come out of international retirement.

The 37-year-old Baggies stopper opted out of the Republic of Ireland squad in 2003 but admitted the lure of the newly established coaching set-up enticed him back.

"Before anybody spoke to me about coming back into the fold, I was asked by the media as a former Irish international what I thought about the new management set-up and the appointment of Mr Trapattoni, Liam Brady and Marco Tardelli," he told the club's official website.

"From a player's point of view, you couldn't ask for a lot more, it's very exciting appointment.

"I said then the idea of turning up for the first session with them was very exciting and that certainly did feed into my decision making process when I was approached and asked if I wanted to play again.

"For people of my age group, growing up watching football, names like those are all legendary figures, so to take to the same training field and be around such people is a massive opportunity. It was just an offer that I'd have been foolish to turn down."