Good news: James McClean in Irish squad. Bad news: Paul Green also in Irish squad

There was mixed news for Irish soccer fans this morning. One the one hand, James McClean was finally called into the squad to face the Czech Republic later this month. On the other hand, Paul Green was also recalled.

News of McClean’s call up will come as fantastic news to the legions of Irish supporters who have been willing Giovanni Trapattoni to give the Sunderland winger a chance at international level after a series of scintillating performances for the Black Cats in recent months.

In fact, McClean’s omission from the original squad seemed mystifying in the first place. Now that that wrong has been very much righted, let’s hope he gets a chance to prove himself against the Czechs.

With every silver lining comes a black cloud, however, which in this case is represented by the return of painfully average midfielder Paul Green, whose last appearance came in the friendly defeat to Uruguay almost a year ago.

Green did miss a large chunk of last year due to injury, but his return seems a bit strange considering that he, with all due respect, was never that good in the first place and there are players in his position, such as David Meyler and Wes Hoolahan (admittedly not as defensive minded as Trap would like), playing consistently in the Premier League.

Still, the big news is that McClean has finally got his call up and the possibility of him playing in the Euros – which seemed bleak following his original omission – is alive once again.