IRISH LEGEND KEVIN Kilbane has doubled down on his frustration with Declan Rice’s decision to turn down an invitation to join the Republic of Ireland squad for the upcoming games.
The 19-year-old is currently weighing up a switch to play with his country of birth, despite winning three caps for Ireland in friendlies against Turkey, France and USA earlier this year.
Kilbane voiced his opinion on Twitter earlier today and expanded on his point on Off The Ball this evening.
I’d rather be ranked 150th in the world and never qualify again than have someone who has played, but needs time to THINK whether they should play for us again. Well done to MON for transparency. https://t.co/6oXlwXEpaP
— Kevin Kilbane (@kdkilbane77) August 27, 2018
“I’m not happy with this, genuinely not happy with this,” Kilbane said. “This is poor.
“This is not on. Three caps, all the messages, kissing the badge. The messages and the signals all indicated to him being fully with us essentially. Why play in the first place? Why start playing for us? I don’t buy it.
“You’ve got more value by playing for England, there’s probably better wages down the line but playing international football is not about that and it never will be in my mind.
“He’s changed his agent over the summer. Your agent is saying, ‘This is great for you, you’re getting international caps but don’t play a competitive game.’ Knowing full well that this is the first competitive game.
“You’ve got to applaud Martin O’Neill for this because many managers would come out and tow the line that Declan is injured or he’s not quite right. He’s come out today and said, ‘Look, this is what I’m dealing with here. England have been in touch and we’ve got to respect his decision for that.’
“Agents accused me in the past of tweeting to get likes and all this sort of crap. That’s not the case honestly. Genuinely with this, he’s had his head turned. Why on earth play for us in the first place and then consider playing for another country?
“If he’s called back into the squad or if he were to change his mind, what does that say to the rest of the lads in the squad?
“What does that say to young kids growing up? If you’re English born you’re aspiring to be Declan Rice. You’ve got pride in playing for Ireland. But all of a sudden now you can actually go and play for someone else as well.
“Or for young boys here in Ireland growing up and they’re seeing what Declan Rice is doing, what is that saying to them?
“They’re coming through a system where someone is taking three caps off an Irish man. That’s the way I’d look at it. You’ve taken three caps off someone here and you shouldn’t be involved in the first place if you’re going to make this decision further down the line.”
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