At Euro 2012, James McClean kept the head down. At Euro 2016, he put the boot down.
The Derry midfielder has come a long way in the past four years. There have been a fair share of downs but the 27-year-old has found a home at West Brom and is finally comfortable in his footballing skin.
Still, he’s a hair trigger player. Performing by the beat of his pulse.
McClean admitted he kept himself to himself at his first European Championships. At this summer’s tournament, he stepped forward as a senior figure within a squad that have, in the words of Brian Kerr, found their soul.
McClean was on Newstalk’s Off The Ball, last night, and said his current feelings, after Ireland’s exit, was more of a raw hurt. That sense of achievement, he added, will follow in the coming days.
The style of football – passing and daring – shown for large swathes of the Sweden , Italy and France games have given the squad purpose going into the 2018 World Cup qualifiers. McClean said:
“Now we want to be known as a team who have the ball a lot more than we had in the past. Hopefully, we can bring a bit more excitement back into Irish football.”
Perhaps one of the most outstanding facets of the current Ireland team is the fact that they don’t know when they are beaten. Five times in the last two years, Ireland have found a goal after the 85-minute mark.
“This team have a never die attitude. We just keep going and always believe we can score.
“When Wes missed that chance, you’re thinking ‘Is this going to be our night? but we kept going. Then 60 seconds later we scored. We just keep going and going. We don’t let up and always believe there is a goal in us… In this team we keep going until the final whistle.”
McClean says he has formed a true bond with his Ireland teammates. His words about the team were heartfelt and rousing:
“It’s like a real band of brothers here. We’re very close.
“We’ve shown on the pitch that we’ll go that extra mile for each other and we’ll not leave our mate in the shite, so to speak. We have each other’s back and it bodes well for the future.”
It certainly does.
Roll on the qualifiers.
