Family want Ireland recall

After recent revelations that his grandmother had asked Roy Keane to recall Stephen Ireland to the international set-up, now the Stoke player’s nine-year-old son is playing his part in trying to end the Cobh man’s seven-year exile.

The Potters midfielder admits his eldest son Joshua has been pleading with him to return to the Republic of Ireland fold.

The Ireland saga has continued into the reign of Martin O’Neill and Keane, with the managerial duo no closer to knowing whether they’ll have the playmaker available for the Euro 2016 qualifying campaign in September.