THE FUTURE IS up in the air, but Stephen Quinn isn’t looking that far above.
The Irish midfielder suffered relegation from the Premier League with Hull last month, and could be on the move this summer.
However with the Irish squad preparing for Saturday’s crunch meeting with Scotland at the Aviva Stadium, Quinn isn’t thinking about the club shirt he’ll be wearing this August.
“I just left it for the agent and the club to speak to each other, it was more important for me to concentrate on this game because it’s such a massive game.
“I’m going to sit down next week with my agent and speak to Hull, and come to some sort of decision,” Quinn said.
The Dubliner says he’s determined not to be distracted ahead of the must-win game against the Scots.
“That’s the way I wanted to put it, because this is such and important game, so as I said I’ll leave it to my agent, because that’s what he’ll do. My agent is speaking to people, but like I said I don’t want to find out until after this weekend, so I’d rather sit down after the Scotland game and discuss my future.”
After gaining promotion with the Tigers in 2013, Quinn was one of four Irish internationals to suffer relegation with the club in May.
It came as a major blow after reaching the FA Cup final the previous season, but Quinn says the distraction of international duty is keeping his mind off things.
“I had a week off before we met up with the international team. It was such a blow with relegation, it was tough to take. This takes your mind off things now, but maybe afterwards it might start hitting me again.
“It was nice to meet up with the lads and have a bit of banter because they’re such a great bunch of lads.”
Defeat to Scotland this Saturday could see the gap between Ireland and the playoff spots extend to five points in Group D, with Germany and Poland both expected to record comfortable wins against Gibraltar and Georgia respectively.
But after securing a late point against Poland last time out, Quinn expects Ireland to take on the Scots with a new found confidence.
“In the second half performance against Poland we showed we were exciting, we were a real threat. The shackles kind of came off, and we passed the ball a lot better and we attacked Poland.
“We didn’t give them too much respect, like I think we did in the first half, and we could have won the game in the end.
“Maybe we have to come out of the traps a bit earlier and a bit faster and not wait to see what the other team has to offer. We should just put it on them and go for it.”
Stopped reading after the first sentence
@my name: thanks for telling us
@Fab John: Thanks for saying, thanks for telling us.
Before this turns into the predictable and at this stage boring tirade of abuse aimed at LA, think about this. You have got your dream job, something you have worked incredibly hard for, say, eg, the top law firm in the country. You’re full of optimism and hope. You begin to notice work colleagues starting work when most people are in bed and leaving when it’s dark. They’re praised for their work by the boss, so gregarious and popular around colleagues, so confident at meetings and at parties with the opposite sex. They’re getting promotion after promotion. They’re successful. And you’re finding yourself stuck at the same desk. One night at a staff party, one of these successful colleagues tells you his secret, take this and you will have it all. That’s what happened to LA…a victim.
@Shane Kelly: oh please, let’s not call him a victim in this ffs. yes it was a culture within cycling, but nobody did it more brazen, more systematic and nobody bullied and abused his position within in his team and within the UCI than him.
@Shane Kelly: that gave me a laugh
@Shane Kelly: Ok, I accept yer points. Yes, to me his biggest crime was when he was outed, he continued to lie, lie and lie. It’s scandalous and unforgivable the way he treated the Andreus and Emily O Reilly. I accept that. Fine, hold him accountable for that. But do not take 7 TdF from him when every other rider in the tour, every winner, even your great Irish heroes were at it. That’s just childish when put into context with pro cycling in general. Childish.
@Shane Kelly: How are things going in the Monastery brother, continue to pray for the those who knew not what they did but please don’t put LA in that category.
@Gerry Ryan deG: Yes, LA goes in that category brother Gerry. LA wasn’t the monster he became when he began cycling. He was faced with a choice, dope or go back to Texas and to God knows what. You and I brother Gerry and any brother or sister out there would have done the same thing. Think of me in your prayers tonight brother.
@Shane Kelly: Ah stop with your anyone would have done the same thing??? or go back to texas??? Paul Kimmage didn’t and went back to Coolock.
@Shane Kelly: are you script writer for the new series of normal people? pure fantasy. the lad was the biggest bully in sport or in any industry, a repeated lier and cheat. Victim maybe if he made one mistake and made amends, what LA did was calculated and toxic throughout his long rain
@Ardmore02: Paul Kimmage has done the sport of cycling a huge service for obvious reasons. He was faced with the choice and made his decision. He will however, never know the elation of winning a stage of the tdf, winning a classic or even a grand tour. There’s a part of him I’m sure that thinks, ‘what if’. What if he’d done what every other rider was doing and continues to do? How far could he have gone? Green jersey? He’d be like Roche and Kelly, that’s what. Venerated!!! A hero!!! And no one would give two bloody hoots.
@Seagoat returns: Nah, I’m not into writing stuff like Lord of the rings or the harry potter. You need to read a few books related to LA and the American Post team. LA should be viewed in two different periods. LA, the hugely talented amateur in the USA and LA, the hugely successful pro cyclist in Europe. I’m not disagreeing with much of what you said, he became a bully and liar. That’s a fact. But why did he become a totally different person from the man who left Texas? He was backed into a corner, forced to dope or go home. A victim of the system. If you call that as good as writing about ‘my precious’, fair enough. But it’s the hard truth.
@Shane Kelly: go watch the clip on YouTube where he tries to publicly destroy Paul Kimmage for doing his job. Walsh and Kimmage as well as others were taken to court and came close to losing their jobs and careers. I’ve seen Armstrong described as a psychopaths I agree.
Armstrong is the picture perfect narcissist.
Even after admitting to cheating, he’s still in denial.
@Colm O’Sullivan: Most people are narcissists today, selfies?? Google LA and Oprah. I think it’s fairly clear he admitted everything way back then.
Armstrong would ride his granny if he thought it would give him an advantage.
@kieran lynch: Just LA? High achievers don’t reach the pinnacle of their profession by playing nice guys or gals. But I think they’d draw the line at their grandmother.
Cheats disrespect the very sport they participate in. Who even watches the cycling tours anymore. Not me anyway. As soon as I see cycling I automatically switch channel away from eurosport. Lance had a lot to do with this decision. Most rational people know its full of cheats and turn off. The same has happened in athletics. Very few watch any more with the same level of interest as most likely doping is going on. Most world records in Athletics should probably be removed from the record books post 1986. So cheats ruin it for everyone and I would have no respect for anyone that cheats and would avoid them at all costs. Cheating is one of the worst things about humanity but unfortunately its an epidemic in some sports.
@Imagine !: There is performance enhancing drugs used in every single sport and to deny that is irrational. So what are you going to do, go shopping in IKEA with the missus for the rest of your life? July won’t be the same without the TdF, the greatest spectator sport on Earth!! imho of course.
@Imagine !: not some sports! ALL SPORTS! Your seriously naive to think only a few sports have drug cheats! Its rampant worldwide in all sports! Don’t be using cycling as an example when every sports at it, and I’d be checking viewing figures about not many people watching it anymore, one of the most watched sports in the world now
@Shane Kelly: Totally agree with the tdf being the greatest spectator sport. amazing atmosphere when there are 1000′s of fans lining the roads millimetres from the riders.
Someone said decline in viewing numbers. Did you just pluck that one from the sky?. 3.5 billion ppeople tuned in to last year’s edition worldwide and 12 million lines the road.
Hardly a decrease in viewers now.
Anyone know where I could watch this?? Nwtdlix or Amazon?
@The Great Cornholio: Nwtdlix definitely won’t have it.