McCarthy confirms he will play for Ireland

AT last, it’s official and it comes straight from the horse’s mouth— James McCarthy has confirmed his commitment to Ireland and expressed the hope that he plays against Macedonia next Saturday.

“I appreciate the interest from Scotland but I do not want to go back on my word,” said the Glasgow-born midfielder. “I am, and will remain, a Republic of Ireland player. I hope to play against Macedonia next weekend and that will put any talk of Scotland to bed once and for all. There can be no going back after that.”

The player’s statement underlines in public what he told Giovanni Trapattoni during a private meeting recently and is especially welcome in light of his Wigan boss, Roberto Martinez, muddying the waters last week by again casting doubt on McCarthy’s international future. But now the 20-year-old has firmly put all the speculation to bed.

“I’ve had to contend with this for a few years,” he said. “But it has all stemmed from other people wanting it to happen. It reached new levels, when I withdrew from the Ireland squad to play Wales.

“It was all above board. I was not long back in the Wigan team after three months out with an ankle injury and I was still taking things slowly as I didn’t want to risk anything. But this became a huge story and all the talk of me playing for Scotland resurfaced.

“My phone never stopped ringing. I’ve never received so many text messages and listened to so many voice mails.

“Some people may have thought I was going to pledge myself to Scotland but that was never on my mind, although a couple of people did speak to me about it. But I never spoke directly to (Scotland manager) Craig Levein about it.

“Trapattoni flew to England to see me. He wanted to look me in the eye and ask if I was happy and committed to Ireland. I told him I was happy and wanted to play for him. We were both satisfied at the end of it.”

Meanwhile there is further encouraging news for Ireland ahead of the game against Macedonia with confirmation that Richard Dunne will join the squad at its Portmarnock base, although the Aston Villa man’s participation next Saturday will still be dependent on an assessment of his shoulder injury by the Irish medical staff.

Other injury concerns Leon Best and Keith Fahey are also joining up with the squad but Blackburn Rovers’ Keith Andrews has withdrawn due to a groin problem.

* Meanwhile, it has emerged that Best and Stephen Ireland have been slammed for partying in a nightclub on the eve of Newcastle’s embarrassing 4-0 defeat to Stoke City.