James McClean speaks superbly about former teammate Ryan McBride on punditry debut

Well said by the Ireland international.

James McClean looked as if he was itching to get a pair of football boots on and kick a ball about the Brandywell pitch. The Derry native is out injured at present so was back from Stoke City duties to do some punditry work for eir Sport during their broadcast of the EA Sports final. McClean told host Conor Morris that he is out of action between five and six weeks, after he injured his wrist on Ireland duty, but he is hoping to be back sooner than that. https://twitter.com/SSEAirtricityLg/status/1041334117349175296 McClean was a former teammate of the late Derry captain Ryan McBride, who tragically passed away last year, and he spoke so well on the ground being named in his honour. The Potters midfielder actually requested to wear the No.5 jersey, in honour of McBride, last year when Ireland played Wales in a World Cup qualifier. On the newly named stadium, McClean said:

"It's brilliant. They've worked incredibly hard to keep Ryan's name alive... "If Derry can win a cup final here at the new Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium, it would be a tremendous achievement." 

[caption id="attachment_177340" align="aligncenter" width="979"] Credit: eir Sport[/caption] As for the match itself, McClean was admittedly biased towards his old club and advised Kenny Shiels' side, the heavy favourites, to go out and go at Cobh. There was a big reaction to McClean's punditry appearance, with so many football fans (on social media) impressed with his performance in front of the TV cameras. https://twitter.com/KieranBTS/status/1041354933562482694 https://twitter.com/_JTD28/status/1041356034810568704 https://twitter.com/DonBoscosFc/status/1041333070857728000 Top, top stuff.