Ireland signs new City deal after ‘difficult’ week

MAN CITY midfielder Stephen Ireland has put aside doubts over his commitment to the club to sign a new five-year deal at Eastlands.

The 21-year-old has been impressive under new manager Sven-Goran Eriksson this season, but it has been for off-the-field issues that he has hit the headlines in recent days.

First, he falsely claimed that both his grandmothers had died to avoid joining up with the Republic of Ireland squad, when in fact he wanted to spend time with his girlfriend who had suffered a miscarriage.