Euro 2012 won’t lure Stephen into Ireland return

STEPHEN IRELAND has revealed the prospect of the Ireland taking on Europe’s finest at Euro 2012 hasn’t tempted him to consider ending his self-imposed international exile.

Having struggled in recent seasons, Ireland has shown signs of rediscovering his best form and impressed again in Aston’s Villla’s 1-1 draw against Everton at Villa Park on Saturday, a game that saw Robbie Keane make his debut for the home side.

Keane’s arrival at Villa Park on a short-term loan has swelled the sizeable Irish influence at Villa Park but Ireland insists he never considered the prospect of taking on the likes of Andres Iniesta, Xavi, Fabregas and Modric in June.

“No, I don’t think about it. My first step was to get back into the team here and now I’ve done that,” he said.

“My next target is to get as many goals and assists between now and the end of the season.

“I’m taking one step at a time and I’ll happily just play club football. It [an international return] is not on my mind because I have not been approached in such a long time — maybe two years. If something comes to me, I’ll see but other than that, I’ll get on with my football here.”

Ireland made headlines last month when a picture of him posing with a shisha pipe was posted on Twitter. Ireland dismissed the incident as a “bit of fun”. “That was just a bit of fun. I threw a party a month ago and rented the pipes for everybody and just kept them. I found out we had Christmas Day off so I said to my wife let’s celebrate it. The lads all had a laugh.”