RICE SET FOR MICK TALKS
DECLAN RICE says he will happily meet with Republic of Ireland boss Mick McCarthy to discuss his international future.
The 19-year-old remains torn between committing to Ireland or England, whose manager Gareth Southgate made his pitch at St George’s Park earlier this year.
But now it is the turn of McCarthy and assistant coach Robbie Keane to present the case for Ireland to the West Ham midfielder.
‘Mick has spoken to my dad [Sean] and I think he wants to meet us, which I said was fine,’ revealed Rice.
‘I haven’t spoken to Mick myself yet, but [I’m] going to speak to him.
‘There are a lot of things going on with my football at the moment. I’m playing week in, week out and obviously there’s my contract situation, which is a lot to take on at a young age.
‘The England-Ireland situation is a lot to take on as well. I’m just focused on playing for West Ham and I said that to Martin O’Neill and he totally understood and respected that.’
Southgate, in Dublin yesterday for the Euro 2020 draw, declined to exert any pressure on Rice but made it clear the door was open for him to walk through.
‘It’s a subject that’s being discussed. He [Rice] is a very good player. We’ve allowed him time to make his decision. We appreciate it’s a difficult one to make and we’ve given him time and space, said Southgate.
McCarthy is pleased that Rice is agreeable to a chat in the coming weeks
‘I told you that I was going to see him and that’s just what I’ll do. I’m delighted that’s what he wants to [meet] because if he said yesterday that he didn’t want to meet, it would have been a problem. Asked if he there had been any more progress, McCarthy said, ‘The only progress than can be made is that he says yes.’
Rice’s performance for West Ham during Saturday’s 3-0 win at Newcastle further emphasised how big a coup it would be for McCarthy to secure his allegiance.
It was at St James’ Park last season that he was hooked at half-time, forcing the teenager to take stock of his fledgling career.
Fifteen months on Rice accepts the analogy that he left Tyneside as a boy and returned a man.
‘I’ve grown so much since then,’ he said. ‘You could see it, I was a different player to last year.
Rice was up against midfield powerhouse Mo Diame on Saturday but came out on top, bossing the contest from the middle of the park.
And he added: ‘I have come up against world-class players this year but, like I say to the lads, it’s only a game of football.
‘They are your opponents and you’ve just got to go out and do your best — if you play well, you play well, if you don’t, you don’t.
‘You have to get on with it,, I play the opponent rather than the name on the shirt.
‘If you get too caught up in who you’re playing against you can get fazed by it and end up having a bad game. That’s why you’ve got to forget about everyone else and worry about yourself.’
West Ham entertain Cardiff tomorrow bidding for successive victories for the first time since January 2017.
On this evidence, you’d back them to achieve it. Javier Hernandez scored twice before manof-the-match Felipe Anderson added a third in stoppage-time.
With the likes of Rice and Anderson, West Ham have every right to look up, and not down.