“Gutted.”
Ireland footballer James McClean has spoken out following the departure of Martin O’Neill from his role as Republic of Ireland manager.
The FAI confirmed earlier on Wednesday that O’Neill’s five-year tenure as manager had come to an end by mutual agreement. This past weekend saw Ireland relegated from the second tier of the UEFA Nations League. It was also confirmed that Roy Keane would be leaving the international set-up.
McClean, who never shies away from saying what he thinks, has put O’Neill’s time in charge of Ireland in perspective, hitting out at any idea that O’Neill leaves behind a “bad record.”
He wrote, “Gutted to see the gaffer gone.. qualifying for euros beating Germany, last 16 at the euros, beating Italy, within one game of qualifying for world cup being 4th seeds… aye bad record ? thanks for everything gaffer.”
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McClean played a valuable role during O’Neill’s reign, scoring crucial goals against Austria, Wales and Moldova.
McClean’s message follows Jon Walters’ earlier post, in which the Ireland forward expressed his surprise that O’Neill had left the role.
