YOU KENNY GO NOW SEAMUS.. EVEN IF I DO GO
Netherlands v Rep of Ireland, Saturday
SEAMUS COLEMAN has been urged to play on for Ireland and resist any thoughts of international retirement.
Stephen Kenny insists his captain still has plenty to offer the national team – even if he may not be his manager for much longer.
Coleman, 35, is on the comeback trail from the horror knee injury he sustained in a game for Everton against Leicester City on May 1.
And he stepped up his recovery with a 66-minute run out for Everton’s Under-21s against Mansfield Town this week.
Coleman only needs another three first-team appearances to break Tim Howard’s all-time Premier League appearance record – 354 – at Everton.
But Kenny insists 68-time capped Coleman can play on for the Boys in Green, too, despite missing the last six internationals because of that injury.
And the manager points to the defender’s performance in shackling Kylian Mbappe at Aviva Stadium on his last appearance back in March as a case in point.
Coleman was not included in this week’s Ireland squad to face Holland and New Zealand as he makes his way back from injury.
But Kenny spoke to his skipper in recent days and did not get the sense he was planning to call time on Ireland any time soon.
“I said to him, I think he should continue playing,” explained Kenny (below). “I honestly don’t know what his thoughts are, but he’s not suggested (retirement) to me.
“He doesn’t just want to be around the squad, he wants to be in the frame to play and make an impact on the pitch. I think that was always important for him.”
Kenny continued: “The period before his knee injury were probably his best displays over the last two years.
“He had that period where he tore his hamstring, was fired back in, came back too early, putting himself on the line.
“Logic doesn’t come into it and it’s ‘I’m ready and I’ll come back and play’.
“Then what happened was a recurring hamstring injury, four or five of them, that cost him for a year-and-a-half. He couldn’t sprint fully, but wanted to play a part.
“But then he was training regularly and playing matches, from one week to the next and that was his best form in a couple of years. “He performed really well against France for us, and then got injured, so I think he should continue playing. Whether I’m the manager or not, he
should.”