CWMBRAN ace Danny Gabbidon has reversed his decision to quit his country – and now stands as a frontrunner to be named new Wales skipper.

The inclusion of West Ham defender Gabbidon was the headline news as new boss Gary Speed named his first international squad ahead of the Carling Nations Cup match against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin next week.

Gabbidon has been plagued by injuries in the past few years and had decided to focus solely on his club career, but Speed succeeded in persuading him to return, even though Simon Davies stood by his decision to quit the international stage.

"I’m delighted that Danny’s decided to come back in. He’s obviously someone that I played with, he’s got lots of experience which we need in there among all the younger players that we’ve got."

Speed didn’t have to twist Gabbidon’s arm to return, revealing it took just one phone call as he also confirmed Gabbidon as being on a shortlist of candidates to take over the captaincy from Craig Bellamy, Newport’s James Collins another leading contender.

"He took no persuading whatsoever really. I called him and said ‘think about it’ and called him again a few days later and he said ‘yeah, I’d love to.’ That was it really."

However, Speed, already robbed of back injury victim Gareth Bale for his first squad, didn’t have the same level of luck with Davies, the in-form Fulham midfielder.

"Simon said he was tempted but at the moment he wants to concentrate on his Fulham career and I respect that totally. Obviously Simon is a quality player but I totally respect his decision,’’ he confirmed.

Craig Bellamy’s ongoing knee issues means he is rested for the February 8 showdown, but Aaron Ramsey does return to the squad for the first time since his horror leg break at Stoke City.

Ramsey was out for over six months due to a clash with Ryan Shawcross, the dual-nationality defender who has made clear to Speed he sees his international future with England.

However, Speed confirmed he is hoping to persuade Wolves man David Jones to begin an international career on this side of the Severn Bridge.

Speed also explained that he hopes to bring in a new assistant as soon as possible and confirmed that Ryan Giggs will join up with the squad when time permits to assist in coaching.

"Ryan will hopefully be around the place for one or two days before the England match," he said.

Speed has also appointed former Bolton coach Damian Roden to his backroom team as an analyst.