A manager’s gotta do what a manager’s gotta do

One of the pleasing aspects about having Mick McCarthy back as Ireland manager is that, when he’s at the other end of a microphone, he doesn’t do diplomatic niceties and he generally avoids speaking in code.

After we talked to him at the Aviva this week, no-one had any need to turn to the well-worn euphemism “thinly-veiled” to describe the naked exasperation that was on display as he described his long and thus far, fruitless quest to set up a meeting with Patrick Bamford to see if the Leeds striker is really keen on declaring for Ireland.