REPuBLIC BOSS wANtS MCCLEAN tO CHANNEL HIS ANGER

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“I thought that was frustration,” said O’Neill in offering a droll take on the booking McClean received for a rash attempt to halt Huddersfield’s Tom Ince. “I saw James going 70 yards to lamp the lad. And he missed him apparently!

“I said to James ‘What about the intention? Intention is now part of the game and the fact that you might have missed him — had you hit him you probably would have put him over the stand’.

“He’s fine, McClean has been great for us and he just has to channel that frustration from obviously not getting into a side that is not winning football matches — and maybe he thinks that he should.”

The Republic manager was in charge at Sunderland when McClean first made the decision to wear a poppy-free shirt in 2012.

And he was supportive of the player for taking a stance that has made him a target for taunts from the crowd.

The player has consistently explained his position, stressing that he could not wear a poppy because it has come to represent all British Army conflicts — including activities in Northern Ireland that had a serious impact on the area of Derry where he grew up.

“I think that’s a question that you would have to ask James,” said O’Neill, when asked if the player’s position on the poppy was wise.

“I know where James comes from. I have got the utmost regard for James, as a person as well.

“James, honestly, has been fantastic. And the great thing he knows is that he will come here and the crowd love him and quite rightly so because of what he has done for the team.” Key name: James McClean has shone throughout qualifying