Republic boss O’Neill voices Belfast concern over McClean
REPUBLIC boss Martin O’Neill has confirmed man in the spotlight James McClean is set to feature in next Thursday’s Dublin friendly with Northern Ireland.
But O’Neill has admitted that he might have been presented with a dilemma if the friendly match was scheduled for Belfast.
McClean has made headlines again over the past week with his stance on not wearing a poppy leading to angry scenes after Stoke’s draw with Middlesbrough. out here and there all season. We are getting wins. This was one ofourbestperformancesofthe season.”
Jurgen Klopp admitted Liverpool have lost their edge after their stunning loss in Serbia to Red
Star.
The result means the
Reds no longer lead Group C and, with games against PSG and
Napoli still to come, now face a tough challenge to reach the knockout stages.
“it is really difficult to get your mojo back,” commented a disappointed Klopp (right).
“We made life a bit too easy for them tonight.”
The FA subsequently investigated an Instagram post by McClean hitting back at his critics, calling them ‘cavemen’.
That probe infuriated the player, who says the authorities do not take the abuse that he receives seriously because he is an Irish Catholic.
He received support yesterday from the PFA Ireland and the Show Racism the Red Card organisation, who released a statement saying that: “Racism on the basis of colour, nationality, religion or ethnicity is not acceptable.
“This statement is a call to both the FA and Scottish FA to have a more robust approach to abuse faced by James McClean and Neil Lennon.”
Republic manager O’Neill was reluctant to get drawn into the poppy debate yesterday. He declined to answer a question about his own view on wearing one.
But he acknowledged that the fuss around McClean (right) provided some food for thought given the symbolism of the Aviva Stadium encounter next week, with the possibility of travelling fans voicing their displeasure at the Londonderry-born player who opted for the Republic over Northern Ireland.
O’Neill indicated it would be a worrying state of affairs if he had to think about fielding McClean in a home match.
“I would really need to sit down and have a conversation with him,” he said.
“I’m looking at this and am prepared to change my mind on it, but if this is an issue that is preventing him from playing in front of his home crowd, then I think we’ve all got to look at things then if that’s the case.
“I wouldn’t have envisaged that as being a problem. James is not travelling.
“If this game had been up in the north, I think then I would be having a look at it.”
O’Neill did later say that he knows what it’s like to be on the receiving end of similar grief with a reference to his time as Celtic manager.
He also said he struggled to initially win over the crowd at Windsor Park before quickly suggesting that “maybe it’s because I was playing c**p”. ROMELU Lukaku is out of Manchester United’s Champions League clash at Juventus tonight with an injury that could also see the striker miss Sunday’s derby against Manchester City.
After coming from behind to sneak a 2-1 win at Bournemouth on Saturday, United have made their way to Turin as they look to kick-start their push for the last 16.
Juventus are sure to provide as tough a proposition as they did in a 1-0 Old Trafford win a fortnight ago — a match that is followed by the eagerly-anticipated trip to swashbuckling Manchester City.
Lukaku has not travelled to Italy due to a ‘muscle, tendon’ issue that leads manager Jose Mourinho to fear the striker could also absent for the derby.
“Injured for Juventus and we don’t know for Sunday,” the United manager said on the eve of Wednesday’s Group H encounter — a game when the Belgian’s ability would come in handy, despite his nine-match scoreless club run.
Juventus toyed with Mourinho’s Reds when the sides met at Old Trafford, with Paulo Dybala’s 17 th-minute effort securing a win far more one-sided than the 1-0 scoreline suggested.
United were particularly poor in the first half, as they have been disconcertingly frequently.