The pair, both playing their club football in the Championship, kept a clean sheet, but Cascarino is still concerned.
Newcastle United’s Ciaran Clark
Former Republic of Ireland striker Tony Cascarino has told The Irish Sun that the partnership involving Ciaran Clark and Shane Duffy worries him.
The pair – who boast 28 caps between them – started alongside each other for the country’s World Cup qualifier against Georgia recently.
Republic of Ireland’s Shane Duffy
And while they managed to keep a clean sheet, Cascarino suggested that the pair are lacking in a crucial area that means playing them together is a big gamble for Martin O’Neill.
“The defensive duo of Shane Duffy and Ciaran Clark worry me,” he told The Irish Sun.
Clark joined Newcastle from Aston Villa this summer
“Neither did anything wrong at the Aviva Stadium and I like the idea of two big tough centre-halves playing together.
“But the pair of them lack the nous that the best defenders all have.
“Neither of them have the footballing brain of a Richard Dunne or a John O’Shea and they make rash decisions.”
Duffy, during his time with Blackburn
Given their form for their respective clubs – and the fact they kept a clean sheet against Georgia – it is a surprise that Cascarino has questioned whether the duo are capable of succeeding if both are deployed in the same team.
Clark’s Newcastle side are third in the Championship table and are yet to lose when he has featured following his summer move from Aston Villa.
Meanwhile, Duffy’s Brighton team are just one place lower. No team has conceded fewer goals than the seven that the Seagulls have this term, so the early signs suggest that the pair will be very much in the promotion battle come the end of the season.
And if they both inspire their sides to the Premier League, it seems unlikely that Cascarino will be able to stand by his argument.
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