'They chose who they wanted to represent' - Seamus Coleman on Dublin return of Rice and Grealish
Friday Seamus Ireland Coleman Of The Republic Conference Mccarthy/sportsfile Aviva During On Pic: A Diplomatic: Press At Stephen Stadium
Seamus Coleman wasn’t falling into the trap. The Republic of Ireland captain is 15 years a professional footballer so he was never going to lunge in when asked if Declan Rice and Jack Grealish might “deserve” a barracking from the Aviva Stadium crowd on Saturday.
The return to Dublin of the two England internationals for the first time since switching their allegiances from the Boys in Green has been an obvious and, already, slightly tiresome seam through the week leading up to this Nations League meeting.
It’s 2015 since Grealish opted for his native England having played 19 times at underage levels for Ireland. Rice, more controversially of course, made the same move five years ago having played three senior games for the Republic.
“Do they deserve it? I think that’s a leading question for me to give you a headline,” Coleman told the English inquisitor. “Listen, they chose who they wanted to represent. I’ve said it for long enough, whatever they feel they are that’s what they chose to be. Declan came and played three games.
“I can only speak of Declan as a person and he is a good guy, top player as everyone knows, but I just want lads who want to represent Ireland and we’ve got that. Them lads have went their own way. What reception they get I don’t know but it has been a few years now so it’s not something of concern to me any more now.”
If all that is old news then it feels all the more stale for the winds of change that have finally swept through the current Irish set-up with Heimir Halgrímsson set for a first game in charge almost 10 months after Stephen Kenny’s term came to a halt.
Coleman has seen plenty of managers come and plenty go at both club and international levels. For him, the challenge remains very much the same: turn up, do your job to the best of your ability every day and take it from there.
Halgrímsson’s first week in charge has been fascinating, from his hands-off role in picking the squad for this window, to the strong hints that his Ireland team will revert to solidity first and spectacular (or attempts at it) second.
The former Iceland and Jamaica boss gave nothing away in terms of personnel or shape at Friday morning’s pre-match press conference but did state baldly that Ireland will spend long stretches defending and hope to profit richly from their rare forays forward.
There is no talk here of football revolutions “It’s been good,” said Coleman. “A lot of new information for us but, listen, you can tell by the man sitting beside me that he’s a good man first and foremost and wants to do well for the national team.
“He’s come into a good group of lads that are desperate to do well for Ireland. We’re all desperate for it, we’ve all been working hard and digging in as much as we can and we are really looking forward to it. We wish him all the best with the journey ahead.”
A journey that starts with the Old Enemy.
“Listen. It’s a game we’re all looking forward to, a game that a few of us have played in before. It’s Ireland v England, it speaks for itself, and we’re fully prepared for a good, successful night at the Aviva. For sure looking forward to it.”