Walters: I don’t want to Dec him for switch
JON WALTERS says Declan Rice was a “brave” man for ditching Ireland to pull on an England shirt.
The former international, who retired from football on Friday, was pals with Rice during the West Ham United star’s brief spell in the Republic’s ranks.
Rice, 20, who was born in Kington-upon-Thames but whose father’s grandparents hailed from Cork, switched allegiances last month and made his debut for the Three Lions in Friday’s romp against Czech Republic.
But while Walters, 35, feels Rice shouldn’t have played senior football for Ireland – he also thinks the midfielder deserves “respect” for calling it quits on a country he didn’t feel part of.
Walters said: “In youth football, lads are being scouted very early to see if there is any heritage in there.
“It is a hard one when you are a young lad because you are pushed by parents and family members. So I can understand how you can go through the system.
“But when you get to a certain level, when you play senior international football, if you don’t feel it, you shouldn’t play.
“Playing internationally should not be done to further your club career. If that is not how you have been brought up, you shouldn’t do it.
“He is very brave to do what he has done, in a way you have to show a certain respect that he has done it.
“It is a difficult one for me to talk about because I really like Declan and think he is a really nice lad.
“But I knew from last summer that he was likely to go. I spoke to him on his own and knew where his head lay.
“I know the switch went on for a while but from speaking to him and knowing his thoughts on it, he has to go with how he feels. If he felt English, you can’t argue against it.”
Walters also revealed how things became toxic in the final year of Martin O’Neill’s reign as Ireland boss, a year when they won just one game and scored only four goals.
Asked if the camp became an unhappy one, Walters said: “Yeah, the atmosphere definitely changed. Results don’t help, we had a year without winning much. But the atmosphere went right downhill. It was difficult.
“It is quite a hard thing to say when you used to love, absolutely love, meeting up.
“But I also have to say the manager trusted me to be able to play and he played me in big games, so I have a lot of respect for him.”