Irish boss Martin ‘would speak’ to North’s Smyth

MARTIN O’NEILL has revealed he would consider talking to Northern Ireland Under 21 striker Paul Smyth about playing for the Republic of Ireland if the approach came from the player’s side. While defending his record of never having recruited a senior player from the North during his time as Republic manager, O’Neill didn’t close the door on Belfast-born Smyth should the QPR forward player express an interest in switching allegiance. Asked yesterday would he meet Smyth if the player made it known he was keen, O’Neill said, ‘Of course, why would I not want to speak to him? But I am not imagining that’s the case. Michael [O’Neill] has done a lot of work with him.’ O’Neill watched Smyth play for QPR against Derby on Tuesday night and acknowledged his quality. ‘I could have gone to him [Smyth]. He still hasn’t made his mind up about things. He was brilliant the other night,’ he said. O’Neill was adamant that no «TURN TO PAGE 49, COL 4

Northern Ireland players are being ‘coerced’ into changing sides even though the North’s manager Michael O’Neill says up to 10 young players have switched in recent years. ‘It’s not as if we are lifting a load of players from them at underage level and preventing them from doing something,’ said Martin O’Neill. ‘I’ve mentioned this to the underage coaches, don’t be coercing someone, but they won’t be anyway. And they haven’t been. ‘The player has the choice. I think that is very important and something that’s been overlooked in this. They’re not being coerced, they are being asked. ‘And if I was a player and two nations were looking for me, I think that I’d be kind of overjoyed about that, I must admit.’ O’Neill revealed the FAI lost out to England on defender Marcus McGuane, who made his debut for Barcelona in the Catalan Super Cup on Wednesday night, having played for Ireland at U17 level. ‘It’s a big disappointment for us but you take it, you accept it. That’s his decision,’ he said. On the plus side, O’Neill reckons that West Ham defender Declan Rice will remain with Ireland despite of English FA interest. Rice has been included in O’Neill’s 30-man provisional squad for the friendly in Turkey on March 23 which is unusual, if not unique, in that it features more Cork-born players than Dubliners — London-born Rice is also of Cork ancestry. ‘We brought Declan in last year down in Fota Island. He’s a genuinely good kid, but he has got choices to make,’ said O’Neill. ‘We would love to have him. This is not going to disrupt him in that sense and he would be aware of that.’ Seamus Coleman returns after a year out to captain a youthful squad which figures several uncapped players, including Kieran O’Hara (Manchester United), Rice (West Ham), Enda Stevens (Sheffield United), the Blackburn Rovers duo Darragh Lenihan and Derrick Williams, Matt Doherty (Wolves) and Liam Kelly (Reading). Stalwarts John O’Shea, Glenn Whelan and Jon Walters were left out by O’Neill, who is preparing a rebuild for the Euro 2020 qualification. The veteran trio are set for an international farewell against the United States in Dublin on June 2.