IRELAND MANAGER GIOVANNI Trapattoni criticised James McClean for his Twitter outburst in front of the whole squad, it has emerged.
The Sunderland winger was dropped for Ireland’s opening World Cup 2014 qualifier with Kazakhstan, in which they scraped a 2-1 win thanks to late goals from Robbie Keane and Kevin Doyle, and vented his anger by posting the following on the social media site: “Delighted as a fan we got the win.. Personal level #fuming #fuckinjoke #embarrassing”.
The 23-year-old today tweeted an apology before deleting his profile and, in an FAI statement released this evening, it has been revealed that the former Derry City player was singled out in front of the team by the Italian.
After his tweet last night, the manager has spoken to James McClean in front of the squad,” the statement reads. “McClean has apologised to his team-mates for his ill judged comments and the matter has now been put to rest.”
While it states that the incident has been put to bed, McClean’s hopes of getting more playing time during the current campaign could be affected as Trapattoni has been known to hold grudges against players in the past.
News of Robbie Brady’s first call-up to the senior squad has been followed by the decision to bring in Reading defender Alex Pearce.
Pearce represented Ireland at U14s but has twice played for Scotland at U21 level. The 23-year-old, whose father is Irish, revealed his intention to line out for the Boys in Green just last week.
Meanwhile, five players – US-based pair Robbie Keane and Darren O’Dea as well as Glenn Whelan, John O’Shea and Jon Walters – have all been allowed to return to their clubs ahead of Tuesday’s friendly meeting with Oman at Craven Cottage.
