IT WAS IMMEDIATELY evident just how gutted James McClean felt after Ireland missed out on a place at this summer’s World Cup finals.
As the final whistle went at Lansdowne Road back in November — resigning Martin O’Neill to his biggest competitive defeat as an international manager — the winger could be seen, inconsolably in tears, as he trudged off the pitch.
Three months have passed since that heartbreaking result against the Danes, so McClean has had plenty of time to reflect on it.
“It is difficult because that night hurt, it hurt deep for a very long time,” the West Brom player said, speaking in Dublin today. “The joys of club football is that there is always next week to put that right and get over the pain of it.
“In international football… that was back in November and we have to wait until March before we have another game. Nothing is going to put that right unless we qualify for World Cup, which will hopefully happen in my playing career.”
The current RTÉ Sportsperson of the Year has become an integral part of the Ireland team under O’Neill, and his winning goals in Vienna and Cardiff will live long in the minds of fans.
It comes as little surprise then, that McClean was happy to learn his fellow Derry man had signed a new two-year deal last month after turning down the chance to take over at Stoke City.
I couldn’t be more delighted that he’s staying on,” he added. “He has been great for my career — at club and international level. Not only that, he has been great for Ireland.
“The way he got criticised after the Denmark game… I think his record is underrated because if you look at it, we qualified for the Euros from a very tough group. We got to the last-16 and we were narrowly beaten by France. One or two fine margins in that game and we qualify for the quarter-finals.”
When asked it he believes criticism of O’Neill was over-the-top after the 5-1 play-off loss, McClean replied:
“100%. A lot of it was uncalled for. But I understand pundits and ex-players in the media have to make a name for themselves, and they feel they have to be controversial to get noticed.
With no major tournament to look forward to, the Boys in Green begin a series of friendly matches with the trip to Turkey next month, before the new Nations League pits them against recent foes Denmark and Wales in the autumn.
Supporters may struggle to get excited about the upcoming games after the extreme highs and lows of the past three years, but McClean feels they can prove worthwhile exercises.
“With wins comes confidence and belief,” he said, laying out his objectives in a green shirt for 2018. ”We’ll try to get as many wins as possible and take that forward into the European [Championship] campaign. When you step out onto a football pitch, you just want to win every game.”
Daryl Murphy and Wes Hoolahan have recently announced their international retirements and others are likely to follow, meaning there will be spots to the fill in the squad. According to McClean, those currently on the fringes should be desperate to make the step up.
Obviously, everyone wants to play,” he said. “Putting on the green jersey and playing for your country is an amazing feeling. There are probably a few lads who have had to bide their time because the lads you just mentioned [Murphy and Hoolahan] were ahead of them in the pecking order.
“I’d say there are a few lads chomping at the bit now as they are ready to play their part and that can only be a positive thing.”
James McClean launched Neymar Jr’s Five, Red Bull’s unique five-a-side football tournament for men and women, in Dublin today. The tournament is a fun, fast-paced and technical game that gives young Irish male and female footballers (16-25 yrs.) the opportunity to represent Ireland at the World Final in Brazil this summer. To participate in the regional qualifiers this February, teams of five to seven players must register at www.neymarjrsfive.com and select their preferred qualifier in either Dublin, Limerick, Belfast, Galway, Cork or Carlow with more qualifiers to be added in the coming weeks
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2 tries from Coombes in the second row in 15 odd minutes. Start him v France. He’s clearly good enough and if Ireland aren’t going to back youth now when will they..
@Jim Demps: any online commentators who disagree are holding back Irish rugby
@Jim Demps: if you think that is going to happen you are fully delusional. A decent player, can’t be near international standards yet.
@Timmy O’Toole: 100%
@Jim Demps: see now lads ye’ve upset some people with all that talk of that Leinster lad. Ye need to be more considerate of other people’s feelings.
@Paddy: you talking to me?
@Jim Demps: God no, how could you be “lads”?
@Jim Demps: Make him Captain of Ireland now!!!
@Jim Demps: A wee bit soon for both Coombes and Baird. However if both continue to develop at their present rate it is only a matter of time till they get full caps. Coombes, Doris and Leavey would make a tasty Irish back row.
@Jim Demps: stick him the irish side, it’s not like munster will give him too much game time.
@Jim Demps: well said Jim, reading the comments about Baird this morning, a lot of poster had him better than james Ryan. Coombes is a good player , constantly gets over the gain line and a good line out operator. Throw in Casey, who was superb, JOS and Nash. The Munster academy are producing finally
@Jim Demps: Yes but Munster are not Leinster are they?
@Patrick O Connell: Fineen has been better for a while but not crossing the whitewash so didn’t get the big headlines. Fair play to Coombes, been on the fringe for a while. Big unit, as useful in the back row
@Tom Reilly: that’s a nasty looking back row
@Christiaan Theron: I see you’ve been studying your map
@Tim Magner: There is great talent coming through in Irish rugby but we need big talented lads in the back row to compete with the likes of England and S.A..
@Jim Demps: jimbo, he only scored 2. Bench v France
@Tom Reilly: exactly, Coombes to me plays like a saffer, he’s a brute of a carrier. Some people like flash but as you say v the physically bigger teams, sometimes power v power is the way to go
@Eoghan O’Leary: Has the penny dropped yet?
@Isa: Occasionally there is sense, then it goes too far.
@Eoghan O’Leary: Eoghan this isn’t actually about Gavan, it’s about 2 silly billys called Harry and Noel
@Christiaan Theron: you are correct, one are the champions and win week in week out the other hasn’t won a thing in 10 years
@Chris Mc: Given that’s the case and Leinster are clearly a superior team to Munster at the moment, don’t you think that it’s sad that many Leinster supporters are so jealous of Munster and can’t be happy with their lot?
@Timmy O’Toole: nail on head
@Jim Demps: Coombes good enough but not Baird ?
@Anton Phelan: ah jaysus Anton, theyre already after sagging off eoghan
@Timmy O’Toole:I give you an analogy Timmy All the young kids are into Liverpool ,their older brothers are into Man City but none are into Man Utd,for all their past glories its not relevant they haven’t been a competitive team in years ,believe me nobody is talking about Munster
@rugbyanbeer: You are.
@rugbyanbeer: the thing is though that they are, if you look at the likes of Noel, Harry and Chris they are either commenting on Munster articles or else negatively comparing Munster to Leinster on Leinster articles
@Timmy O’Toole: well I cannot understand the mentality of getting greater glee from someone’s team struggling as opposed to just getting joy outta your own teams success
@rugbyanbeer: agree with you fully, 3 saddos
@rugbyanbeer: my father,me, my brothers and sister, my son are support Liverpool. It started in the late 60’s and continues today. It’s called tradition. We all support Munster first
@Chris Mc: just like Ireland did with Ryan so ???
@Jim Demps: I love Coombes as a player. Never said anything wrong about him. He’s young and strong….get him in there. I used to play for the same club as him.
@Timmy O’Toole: silly billy
@Timmy O’Toole: would you stop leinster jealous of munster?
@Jim Lynch: Ryan is probably the best player to play for munster since Paulie
@Timmy O’Toole: I was answering rubbish aimed at leinster. instead of praising how well a very good young secondrow played jimbo has a pop at baird. Personally I’d fast track the 2 young munster secondrows and baird into the irish setup. Move Toner, kleyn and Dilane aside and see if one of those 3 step up. (Dilane might step up) but he needs to do so soon as the others will pass him very soon otherwise.
Terrible cheap cowardly punch from Lousi. Hope he gets a long ban. Well done Munster in terrible conditions. Coombes was a revelation when he came on. O’Byrne and Hanrahan were hugely influential.
@Tom Reilly: Casey was class as well.
@Paddy: Solid game from the kid. Bit indecisive at times, maybe lacked runners. Probably not challenging Murray yet but the clear no. 2
@Mark Dooley: He’s barely had a minute to play but even still I’d say he’s more than just challenging, won’t be long before he’s 1 .
Munster’s future back row – Coombes, Hodnett and O’Sullivan – has a nice balance to it
I see Noel has rented out a lovely spot in Munster fans heads. Seriously though, Baird should be considered for the French game as a travelling reserve even but he will be on the Summer tour to Australia at least.
@#JUSTICE4NOEL: baird was one of the 4 development players so he’s very much in farrells thinking. I’d say he’s a shoo in for the Australia tour. For the rest of the year it’ll be interesting to see how leinster use him though, if he’s not in the 23 v saracens then it’s very hard to be hammering the Irish management if they don’t select him
@#JUSTICE4NOEL: I think you’re right to row back from your comment yesterday Noel but ya he is a serious prospect
@Timmy O’Toole: And if he doesn’t start (and actually Captain) all 3 Lions matches there’s no justice in the World, he’s literally that good.
What’s the deal with Ryle doing literally every single Munster and Leinster game lately??
@Jamie Bent: I’d hate him as a tmo in a munster game!
@Tim Magner: Him or Reggie Corrigan
@Jamie Bent: He’s the main reason I watched it on TG4.
@Mark Dooley: the poor man will be in depression after the BP try. He was in the commentators box waving the red card for haley ‘taking out’ shingler until toland tried to talk some sense into him. And he was worse last week v zebre, a forearm to the face according to old ryle was something and nothing
@Tim Magner: Munster vs the world Tim. Chips on both shoulders.
@#JUSTICE4NOEL: has always been the way, bitter is better
@Tim Magner: it was pretty satisfying when Munster got that Bonus point. Ryle had the game written off as a poor effort against 13 players.. he is the worst actually no that Ger Gilroy followed closely by vyle
@PScald: I got a bit of satisfaction out of his obvious disappointment anyway
The sending off had a major effect on that game. We badly need Kleyn back to ad power to the second row. At 17-3 Coombes is still a bit light for international or indeed top club lock. Excellent prospect as is young Ahearne with the U20s
We’ll take the 5 points and move on.
@TL55: I think he’s a 6 all day. Trying to fit in pom, jod, beirne and Coombes is going to be an issue. They might be tempted to play beirne and snyman but I’d go kleyn/snyman all day for the big games. We’re going to have a bloody big pack anyway
@Tim Magner: An interesting dilemma over the next couple of seasons for Munster to manage. Similar to Leinster in the back row and probably at 10 over the coming seasons. Doubt either side will be complaining too much. Exciting times ahead.
@JJ’s Wattage: exactly, theyre great problems to have. Ulster are going to run into issues keeping all the outside backs they are producing happy with game time as well. A very wise man said to me earlier that ireland are going to have to bring back the wolfhound to get a lot of these guys some decent international experience
@Tim Magner: Yeah it’s a drawback to having just the 4 professional teams, log jams are almost inevitable at one time or another. Having said that the positives of having just the 4 teams far outweigh the negatives. The wolfhounds is an interesting shout. Are the rest of the six Nations teams still playing “A” international fixtures? I always thought it was good to have that stepping stone from club level to international. For it to be truly affective it would need to be taken seriously by all the nations though. Can’t see the IRB wanting to fit more fixtures into the calender with their attempts to streamline the global season.
@JJ’s Wattage: I think on non world cup or lions tour years, playing v Georgia, Romania or Spain etc would be a win win for everybody. Say if it was an u25 team touring Europe every second year. Just look at will Connors as an example, the lad is near enough international standard but to make that leinster back row for the really big games is crazy competitive
@Tim Magner: yeah I like the sound of that. As good as these young guys are, and they are very good, it’s extremely difficult to break in to a senior starting 15. Connors, Penney, JOD, Wycherley, Baird, Balacoune, Keenan, Harry Byrne, Frawley and so many more are right on the edge of making a serious breakthrough. Opportunity is everything. Haven’t thought of playing tier 2 nations before. Could also be a good pathway for emerging homegrown coaches to hone their skills at international level.
Wycherley suffers a serious injury from a cowardly punch. And yet many posters ignore this. The great Munster righteous indignant poster Jim Demps is more concerned about petty issues concerning Baird than he is worrying about the state of the garden while the house is burning down.
@Tom Reilly: Hi Tom, I don’t think it was that serious, Wycherley took it well, like most West Cork men would.
You might have missed this but Jim is a Baird fan, he was just highlighting how clueless Noel and Harry are
@Tom Reilly: I’m a Leinster fan and I totally agree with what Jim said. Baird is good, but capping in this Six Nations ain’t gonna happen.
@Tom Reilly: it was hardly a serious injury, wycherley came back after the cut was cleaned up. What was worthy of uproar was the big 2nd row barely caused jj to flinch, I think he walked off in embarrassment
@Aidan Prior: Well Aidan I’M Leinster supporter too and I would expect more from Demps who is one of the more erudite posters here.
@Tom Reilly: what are you talking about? “I would expect more of Demps” what are you? His teacher or something? Ridiculous carry on.
@Timmy O’Toole: Timmy this whole scenario has made Coombes who I always rated. But I hate this us versus them carry on here at times.
@Tom Reilly: I couldn’t agree more with you Tom. It really turns me off the 42 but to be fair I do think think it’s only a few knuckle draggers
@Dave O Keeffe: Jesus Dave you’re some craic. I am not his teacher but I am a retired teacher. Now you have to admit Jim Demps is more than your normal poster.
@Tom Reilly: the question still has to be asked, what right do you have to expect anything of another poster? Jim was poking fun at J4N for his comments on the Leinster game yesterday about how a 20 year old should be started against France because of his performance in a Pro14 game during the 6 nations. He was poking fun in an inoffensive and clever way, I’m sure he’s devastated to have disappointed you though.
@Timmy O’Toole: Yet Baird was literally just picked in the Irish squad. Yikes….
Ease past???????