JAMES MCCLEAN was determined to savour the occasion despite his international career ending with a frustrating 1-1 draw against New Zealand last night.
The Derry native played the opening 67 minutes, winning his 103rd and final Ireland cap in the process, taking him past Steve Staunton’s tally of 102.
Only four players — Kevin Kilbane (110), John O’Shea (118), Shay Given (134) and Robbie Keane (146) — have represented the Boys in Green on more occasions.
The 24-year-old Wrexham player previously said he was bowing out for “personal reasons” but has vowed to continue supporting the team and attending games as a fan in future.
“I don’t think I’ve got a choice. My son is football daft and he just loves going to the games. Look, I was a fan before I started playing and I’ll be a fan now afterwards. 100%, I’ll be going supporting the lads home and away any chance I can get.”
Tuesday’s game was also expected to be Stephen Kenny’s final match in charge. A new regime will likely be in place for the next international window in March. However, McClean says there is no chance he can be persuaded to perform a U-turn.
“I think this is the right time to go. Not many people get to go out on their terms,” he said.
“I’ve had the absolute time of my life. I’ve achieved so much beyond my wildest dreams, I’ve had my time, look, the lads were saying tonight, ‘Why didn’t you cry? I would have cried,’ but I don’t see the need to cry because I’ve had so many happy memories, and it’s been an absolute honour.”
McClean also believes the current squad of players are better than recent results have suggested and feels an upturn in fortune is not too far away.
“These will get better with experience and you know with that experience I’ve no doubt that down the lines these lads will bring the glory days back and when I say glory days I mean qualifying for major tournaments because they just need to believe in themselves, because the ability is there, it’s just getting that consistency and doing it every single game, and I’ve no doubt that will come with experience.”
