Embarrassed star Ireland insists he really does love Cork

STEPHEN IRELAND last night insisted he was misquoted and his comments misinterpreted in an interview in which he slated Cork, Birmingham and most points in between.

Ireland allegedly told French magazine So Foot he would rather shoot himself than live in Cork but last night he insisted he loved Leeside and said he is “frustrated and very angry’’ about the manner his comments were interpreted.

“I love Cork, I’ve Cork tattooed on my body,’’ the Newcastle midfielder declared. “It’s somewhere I go, I’ve family there, my best friends are still there, my kids go back there once every two months. If it was that bad to me I wouldn’t have my kids going back there. Cork is really, really close to me and it (the way his comments were portrayed) just really makes me frustrated and very angry.’’