McCarthy puts saga to bed

YOU could almost hear the exhalation of relief from James McCarthy as he walked away from the media scrum on the touchline at Gannon Park yesterday.

Another hurdle had just been crossed in the player’s journey back to the heart of Irish football.

No matter that he himself had apparently never doubted the final destination — between Giovanni Trapattoni, Roberto Martinez, Craig Levein and a surfeit of sometimes frenzied media speculation, the story of his future international intentions had taken on the dimensions of a soap opera.