O’Neill revisits the loyalty question

Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill believes the fate of Darron Gibson and other high-profile players who’ve switched allegiance from the North to the Republic should make younger players across the border think twice before following suit.

“If you look at the Northern lads who’ve come down here, none of them’s had a particularly positive experience, let’s be honest,” he said.

“Marc Wilson had his problems, James [McClean] has had his problems and Darron Gibson has certainly not played anywhere near as much for the Republic of Ireland as he would have done for Northern Ireland. I don’t think there’s any doubt about that.”