Two players who may have changed Ireland’s fortunes, but didn’t see very much playing time, have been voicing their concerns today.
First things first, we don’t think that Darron Gibson and James McClean could have helped Ireland win Euro 2012. But, with their particular skills, they could have made us a bit more threatening and certainly against Italy they deserved a run to show Giovanni Trapattoni what they could do.
Today, both players feature in stories where they, or sources close to them, voice their concerns on how they were utilised in Poland. First up is McClean. The Sunderland winger saw 14 minutes of action, as a late sub, in the 4-0 thumping by Spain, and he tells the Irish Daily Star today that he was ‘disappointed’ not to play a bit more.
“It was great to get my competitive debut against Spain,” says the Derry youngster, “but on a personal level I was disappointed not to get more playing time.”
“I always thought I would get a run-out at some stage. I was disappointed when I didn’t get the start against Spain. It was disappointing but understandable that he stuck with the players.”
So while McClean is being moderate in his criticism, the Derry Journal carry quotes from ‘a source close to Darron Gibson’ which are a little more damning.
The Everton man didn’t get a kick in Poland so we can understand his frustration and he seems to be as baffled as we are at Trap’s selection policy.
“It’s not as if the team was winning games,” says the source. “He felt he could contribute but the shame was, he didn’t get a chance.
“Right now, Darron doesn’t know where he stands with Trapattoni. He loves playing for Ireland but the manager doesn’t seem to believe in him.”
We would like to see both start our next game, the friendly against Serbia on August 15. Let’s see if word of these interviews gets to Trap and how he takes them first.
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