GLENN WHELAN

has a name within the media for being grumpy. He does not do interviews; he is not a man to dally in the mixed zone looking to make friends.

That he doesn’t walk through the ranks of journalists assembled there swinging his fists is a credit to him. No player is as quickly or unjustly criticised. Whelan (left) is the counterpoint presented by champions of Wes Hoolahan: they single out Whelan, hold their noses and say he represents Martin O’Neill’s crude beliefs. It is a cheap and tiresome slur.