Martinez maintains McCarthy moan

ROBERTO MARTINEZ was still claiming after Wigan’s 2-1 home win over Birmingham on Saturday that James McCarthy, above, had still to make up his mind about his international future.

McCarthy is poised to make his first competitive appearance for the Republic of Ireland in next Saturday’s Euro 2012 qualifier against Macedonia in Dublin.

The highly-rated midfielder has been at the centre of a tug-of-war between Ireland and his native Scotland, but McCarthy has now made it clear he will represent the Republic after talks with Giovanni Trapattoni. Yet Wigan manager Martinez was still insisting after the match that the 20-year-old had not made up his mind about whether to play for Ireland or Scotland.