King’s McCarthy aid

Ireland U21 manager Noel King has revealed he felt Giovanni Trapattoni was dismissive of James McCarthy when the midfielder’s international intentions came under scrutiny.

Relations between the Italian and McCarthy became strained in May 2011 when the player withdrew from the Carling Cup fixtures and a Euro 2012 qualifier against Macedonia without informing the FAI directly. The Italian questioned McCarthy’s loyalty. Trapattoni axed the Glaswgow-born player for subsequent games against Croatia and Slovakia but King supplied a lifeline picking McCarthy at U21 level in September 2011.

King explained at the weekend that he’d travelled to Britain on a few occasions to meet with McCarthy, then making his name in the Premier League for Wigan.