Martin O’Neill: This is the final thing I’ll say on Jack Grealish, Declan Rice and Republic of Ireland
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In an exclusive interview with Ladbrokes, former Republic of Ireland manager Martin O’Neill has the final word on Jack Grealish and Declan Rice, and discusses James McClean’s omission from Stephen Kenny’s Euro 2024 squad.
Last word on Grealish and Rice…it’s a stick to beat me with
I have answered this umpteen times, but it may be worthwhile to do so for the final time. This will be the final thing I’ll say on the topic.
Jack Grealish and Declan Rice, first of all, were both born in England. Jack’s father is English, as well. There was an opportunity for both of them at an underage level to play for the Republic of Ireland, and both really enjoyed doing so.
Jack came to my attention during my tenure, in the early stages as my time as national team manager, and I went to see him and his father. It really was straightforward – the choice was there for him. He knew that the minute he played a minute of international football of standing – in other words, a qualification game, of some sort… a meaningful, senior game – that would tie him down to Ireland.
But it was always Jack’s – and particularly his father’s – choice that England was going to be the route he’d go down. I don’t think that Jack, or his family, have regretted that decision. Yes, you might say Jack would have had a lot more caps for the Republic of Ireland, but would he have enjoyed similar levels of success at international level? Quite obviously, the records will tell you that, no, he wouldn’t have.
In Declan Rice’s case, I actually capped him three times, at senior level – and he was only a young lad. I capped him because I felt he was good enough to play for the Republic of Ireland, even at that age. Again, there was a dilemma there, because he’d played for Ireland at an underage level.
But once I’d put him into the senior side, his agent had got in touch with Gareth Southgate. I wouldn’t have even been totally sure that Gareth would have known a great deal about Declan at the time, because he was still trying to break into West Ham’s first team. He’d been left out of West Ham’s team at the beginning of that season, and I remember telling him at the time that the manager wouldn’t know the strengths and weaknesses of his team until he’d had a bit of time with the club. I told him to just be patient, and assured him he’d break into that side.
In one of the games he played for me, one of the friendlies, he was terrific. I can still remember one moment when he played an exquisite pass through, and you could just see the hallmarks of a player that was going places. He had the fitness levels as well. He had all of the attributes.
But the bottom line was this: I was not going to coerce or deceive him into playing a senior qualification game for the Republic of Ireland for a number of reasons. One, I just wouldn’t have done it. Two, he, his father and his agent knew the rules anyway, and they decided to go to England. Has he regretted that decision? I don’t think so.
I had hoped that both of them would have gone on to play for the Republic of Ireland, of course. But the decision was not down to me; it never was going to be down to me. It was down to the players, their families and their agents. And, eventually, if England come calling and give you a chance, then obviously you’re going to take it. Commercially speaking, as much as anything else, you know, you have to look at all of these things. I ask you this; if you were a brother, or an older relative of either of those two boys, what would you be advising them to do? I think you’d be telling them to have a wee think about things.
It seems to be quite a stick to beat me with, which I never felt was right. I think one Irish journalist once asked me ‘did you not feel as if you could have almost sneaked them on in a qualification game, just to nail them down?’ It’s just nonsense.
James McClean has been hard done by…I don’t care who they have in that squad, James would outlast every one of them
James McClean obviously hasn’t been included in Stephen Kenny’s latest squad. For me, James’ situation is very much like Jordan Henderson’s with England. James has been a big part of the Republic of Ireland for a considerable amount of time now. He took on the mantle in our 2018 World Cup qualification campaign. James became a talisman for us. He scored important goals for us in a number of matches – notably a win away from home against Austria. He scored a goal for us against Wales in the play-offs, and he became our go-to man at the time.
James has a big heart. I gave him his debut at Sunderland, and he’s gone on to do really well in his career. The big thing with James, and a great trait for him to have, is that he doesn’t need a whole host of games to be fit…he’s one of the fittest players you could ever imagine.
My view is that James has been hard done by when it comes to Stephen Kenny’s latest squad announcement. His heart and soul is with the Republic of Ireland, and this has nothing to do with his fitness. I don’t care who they have in their squad, James would outlast any player that they have at this moment in time. Fitness has never been an issue when it comes to James. It’s a tough one, but ultimately it’s the manager’s decision.
