I'd agree in general, but beggars can't be choosers, so if we're setting out a list of who we have, they should be in there I think. They can be far enough down the list that they wouldn't feature in a squad. But age-wise they're not way over the hill (32/33) and they're still playing at a good level (Championship).
I'd have MacNulty ahead of both at this stage, probably Scales too (though I think he's shown at Celtic and even at UCD he's not really a left-back) and maybe one of Lyons/Roughan, even though I'm loathe to go to League One. I like O'Dowda as a player but not at left-back - yet maybe he has to be considered there too. But we are where we are.
I'd go with any of those ahead of guys who haven't played a senior game at a decent level yet (I'd include Furlong in that). I think the home-grown rule means there's more young players getting on PL benches these days - it doesn't mean they're really considered ready for the first team. Gavin Kilkenny is another example.
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