Nationality issues making the job difficult for O’Neill

IF there is one issue where I have some sympathy with Martin O’Neill, it is the dual nationality of young players and whether or not they really want to play for Ireland.

I have already said that if Declan Rice has any doubts about declaring for Ireland after three friendlies, then I wouldn’t let him play for us again, no matter how good he is. I know I am in a minority.

Michael Obafemi (right) is a slightly different case. He was born in Dublin to Nigerian parents, is a year younger than Rice and he has only played 26 minutes of Premier League football for Southampton. He was a surprise inclusion in the squad to face Northern Ireland and Denmark this week, given his inexperience, but I can understand why O’Neill wants him on board now. These are the rules and he needs to play a competitive match to be fully committed.

Prior to the Northern Ireland game, we had the farcical suggestion that he wouldn’t travel to Aarhus tomorrow. Then he tweeted he had declared for Ireland, so now he is in the squad again.

The most ridiculous thing was the statement from his agent saying they were not in discussions with any other associations (namely England or Nigeria).

I understand times have changed and players want to ‘see the whole package’ and have discussions with managers as if they are choosing a club, but it doesn’t sit comfortably with me. You are either Irish, or you are not.

It will not be an easy decision for other young Irish boys of African ancestry like Obafemi coming through our system; they may feel more compelled to play for the country of their parents’ birth. That’s the situation I faced in England although, for me, there was never an issue.

When Victor Anichebe was making a name for himself as a 16/17-year-old at Everton, he was a brilliant, brute of a Liverpudlian lad who was catching the eye of the England scouts. He probably wasn’t even on the Nigerian FA’s radar at that point, but he only wanted to play for them.

Hopefully by offering these young lads an opportunity of international youth football with Ireland, we can commit them to our cause but it is never going to be easy for O’Neill or his successors under present rules.