we were linked to Aiden last season but he went to Russia for the money, he was working in the Scottish leagues.
Republic of Ireland boss Giovanni Trapattoni has indicated that James McClean is part of his long-term plans. The Sunderland youngster will not make his international bow after missing out on the squad to take on the Czech Republic in February. It was widely expected that the 22-year-old was going to be included after impressive form for the Black Cats this season. The winger made his Sunderland debut in a 2-1 win against Blackburn in December and it was not long until he scored his first goal in a 4-1 victory at Wigan in January. But Trapattoni has kept faith with his players who achieved qualification to the Euro 2012 tournament, although he has given McClean hope for the future. Believe He said: "I think all the squad deserve to come with us. They believe us and they know us. "We have four or five other names, because we have no time to change. One is McLean. "I spoke with him and I said, 'Congratulations, James, I wish you to come with us'. We now have insurance that he can play with us, and this is important. "He said, 'When you decide, call me up'. I told him 100% he will be with us for the future. Now, I'm looking to consolidate."
Saturday morning : It's on BBC that Trappatoni rang McClean on Thursday and explained that he will be in the future squad, but right now he wants to consolidate the team that got him to the Euros. It's the same as Maradona did with Angeleri. Picked him, played well, but then got injured. By the time he recovered, Argentina had begun to win games and got to S. Africa in the end. So Maradona left Angeleri out and stuck with the lads that got him there. When you look at the way the Argentine team rallied round Maradona out in Africa, you've just got to think maybe Trappatoni did the right thing. Jamie's time will come, and he's been told that.
The southern press will rip Trap to peices over this Billy. All you have to do is look at the players listed and think on current form how many would keep McClean out of the Sunderland team for example? Duff maybe? I'll be looking forward to the RTE coverage of this friendly to hear what Giles/Dumphy/Brady have to say.
