NIALL QUINN HAS challenged James McClean to knuckle down and prove that he’s good enough for the Premier League.
McClean was one of the biggest Irish movers of the summer transfer window, leaving Sunderland for relegated Wigan Athletic in a deal worth £1.5 million.
The winger made his debut in Wembley on Sunday, playing an hour in the Latics’ 2-0 defeat against Manchester United in the Community Shield.
Quinn, the former Sunderland chairman, admitted the move was a “backwards step” for McClean who made a strong start to life in the Premier League when he joined from Derry City in the summer of 2011.
But homesickness and ill-advised outbursts on social media both proved to be a distraction for the 24-year-old, who also suffered a backlash for his refusal to wear a poppy on Remembrance Sunday.
Quinn stays in regular contact with McClean and says that the future can still be bright for the Irish international — but only if he cuts out the controversy and focuses on his game.
“I think it can only be seen on paper as a backwards step but you know something, he’s going to play European football this year [in the Europa League], he’s going to play a lot of Championship games.
“He has the opportunity to help his club who I think are in the top three or four in that league and in a position to go back up, and I think there’s the possibility of a World Cup at the end of it.
“If he puts his head down and puts his Twitter thing away for a year and concentrates on his football, [who knows] what can happen at the end of the year? He could be back in the Premiership.
“But you know something, and I text him and stay in touch with him, you know that’s not guaranteed and he’s got some big questions to ask himself now and he’s got to deliver.”
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Sky kicks off its biggest ever Premier League season with live coverage of Swansea v Man Utd on Sky Sports 1, Sky 2 and Pick TV on 17 August.
