Keane: Toffees too stringent with McCarthy

Roy Keane has expressed concern about what he regards as Everton’s overly protective attitude to James McCarthy and Seamus Coleman when it comes to their Irish obligations — and suggested part of the problem could relate to manager Roberto Martinez’s own lack of international experience.

Keane is worried about the effect of club pressures on McCarthy, the midfielder having now missed Ireland’s last two qualifiers through injury. But the Assistant Manager noted too that, in the age-old club ve country tug of war, there can also be an onus on a player to make the big call about his fitness.

“If you ask most international managers, it’s a difficult role when a player turns up and he’s not 100% fit or he might be struggling,” said Keane. “We have had that a number of times with lots of players. It’s a big downside of international football. When a player turns up and they’re not sure if they’re going to be fit, you have to try and be fair to the club and you have to try and be fair to the player but, obviously, you’re working for your country and you want to get the right result. So it’s a difficult one for James as well. We talk about manager here and manager there but there’s a player in between all that. I can speak from experience, he’s under lots of pressure. And also you’re hoping the player can make the decision and say ‘I’ll give it a go’ or whatever. We can talk all day about x-rays and scans, my goodness, you know.