Irish fans love James McClean and it has been that way since he made his debut in 2012.
McClean burst onto the scene and immediately stuck out because he was direct, passionate and above all, fearless.
Despite the adulation for the player, McClean has been in and out of the starting lineup for the past five years.
Not anymore, he’s the first name on the team sheet or close to it anyway.
Somewhere along the way, McClean has matured in an Ireland jersey while retaining his fearlessness and display of passion and his performance against Austria away last November exemplified that.
Fast-forward to the week of Austria at home and McClean has earned his 50th international cap and captained his country but that isn’t the extent of his leadership. It is what the public don’t see that sums up the measure of the man.
Callum O’Dowda is part of the ‘next generation’; big things are expected from the talented 22-year-old winger. The Bristol City winger has been well and truly taken under to wing of McClean.
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O’Dowda spoke highly of McClean at a press conference on Wednesday after an open training session at the Aviva Stadium and has even gone as far as to say that he would model himself off of McClean.
“He’s the kind of guy I want to be like. When he gets the ball he wants everyone to get a bit up themselves,” the 22-year-old remarked.
“I want to do stuff that he does and I like to implement what he does on the pitch as well. It helps when I’m training with him and he’s the type of player that I want to be like.”
There is a reason that O’Dowda speaks so highly of McClean, they’re friends as well as team mates and he made it evident how much time that West Brom attacker has for younger players.
“He has been really good to me, just little things in training and we’re good pals off the pitch as well,” O’Dowda said.
Ireland are without their captain Seamus Coleman for the crunch tie against Austria and Jonathan Walters sat out training on Wednesday. That means that Martin O’Neill may have to go to third in command to captain the side on Sunday and not many will begrudge McClean if he is given the honour.
