Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
SEAMUS CALLMAN
Ireland skipper reveals he picked up the phone to tell stayaway defender Rice he’s welcome back at any time
SEAMUS COLEMAN has picked up the phone to Declan Rice and hinted that the teenager could come back into the fold.
Tonight’s clash against Wales in the Nations League should have cemented his standing as an Irish international, as FIFA deems the new competition to be competitive action.
The West Ham starlet lined out in three friendlies for Martin O’neill’s team this year and was viewed as a once-in-a-generation find, a future Irish captain in the making.
But the London-born star rocked the squad a week ago by withdrawing his services in order to ‘deliberate’ on his international future amid renewed interest from World Cup semi-finalists England.
But any suggestion that the 19-year-old would not be welcomed back into the Irish dressing-room was blown out of the water by captain Coleman in Cardiff last night.
While O’neill has not spoken to Rice since naming his squad a week ago, Coleman has picked up the phone to state his case for inclusion going forward.
And there is fresh optimism Rice could side with the Boys in Green ahead of next month’s Nations League double header at home to Wales and Denmark.
Coleman said: “In an ideal world, we would have all players playing for us.
“On Declan’s situation, I spoke (to him) last week.
“Some people back home might not like to hear it but he’s a 19-year-old boy who was born in England, and there’s no reason why he can’t be a proud Irishman.
“After the Turkey game, when he got man-of-thematch, I saw him embrace his father in the tunnel and that’s not for show. That’s genuine.
“He was genuinely proud to play in the games that he did and in an ideal world we would get him back.”
Coleman continued: “It’s not as straightforward as ‘they know what they are’.
“The young lad was born in England and there’s no reason why he can’t feel in some part English and also be very proud to play for Ireland, which I know he is.
“So on that situation, fingers crossed. We would welcome Declan back with open arms, whatever he decides.”
Roy Keane’s June bust-up with Harry Arter and Jon Walters has resulted in the former pulling his services for the foreseeable future. But O’neill this week flatly denied any suggestion that Rice was caught up in it or that it was directly connected with his decision to take a step back.
And while Keane always divides opinion, Coleman insists the assistant manager only wants the best from players in green.
Coleman claims he never had a falling out with Keane himself but said: “Roy is very demanding. He was a top player and expects the best.
“We understand that. If you make a mistake in training, he’ll tell you but that’s no different to the manager as well. We’re all in it together and we want to be successful.”
Coleman makes his return to competitive action tonight – 18 months after his horror leg break against Wales in Dublin.
Neil Taylor, the player responsible for that gruesome injury, is not in this Wales squad and therefore won’t face the Everton full-back.
Coleman insists the incident is in the past but O’neill is adamant Ireland would have qualified for the World Cup if his captain hadn’t got injured.
O’neill said: “It was a severe setback for us. I think if he had stayed fit we’d have taken our place in Russia.
“I can’t pay him a higher compliment than that. He’s been top class, a really top quality player– world class.”
Declan was proud to play for us and in an ideal world he’ll be back.