James McClean seen at Derry training amid contract termination claims

Mad stuff going on!

The former Ireland international made a heroic return after nearly 15 years in England, but soon his move turned sour, with a number of controversial moments involving the 37-year-old.

During World Cup punditry duty for RTÉ, he said: "Family [are] enjoying being home – probably not so much myself, if I'm being honest.

"You know, you have a lot of conversations on the phone, and then you come home and you quickly realise that what you hear on the phone is not what you see in reality.

"There’s a lot of factors that’s contributed to that, but we’ll leave them for another day."

James McClean has dig at management

He then gave a veiled dig to the management on social media, after failure to progress in Europe, writing: "Rovers, Bohs, Shels, Larne have all progressed through ties in Europe this year. We played four, lost four.

"And sorry, it needs to be said, we have every much as good, if not better, a squad on paper [as those clubs].

"If you watch the games, the lads aren't losing these games based on lack of effort. So clearly there is an issue somewhere.

"Given [I] am around it every day and have the CV to give my opinion, I think I'll give it whether anyone likes it or not.

"If you don't like it, then you'll excuse me for not caring about your opinion, given that 99.9% that have a lot to say have never played a professional game in their lives."

He also posted a picture of himself on Instagram watching his old club Wrexham, while his Derry team were playing Sligo Rovers last Friday.

However, despite rumours over his contract, he turned up to an open training session today.

When asked by a reporter whether he was still a Derry player, McClean replied: "Clearly."