Walters desperate to see action

There’s nobody more aware of the work required to earn consideration in Martin O’Neill’s plans than Jon Walters.

The Stoke City striker had only just got over a serious and mysterious infection when he flew to Philadelphia on Friday.

Still jet-lagged and generally disoriented, he threw his boots on anyway and warmed up with the rest of the squad prior to the draw against Cost Rica.

He had to do something. If nothing else, it was shaking off the cobwebs caused by that illness.

But there is also a sense that time is running out if he is to nail down a starting berth when competitive international action begins again at the end of the summer.

Walters believes the two first choice frontmen will be Robbie Keane and Shane Long and that he is not ideally suited to the out-and-out wing play provided by the likes of James McClean and Aiden McGeady and preferred by O’Neill.

So as soon as he got the all-clear from doctors in Birkenhead and when he was sure his daughter — similarly sick — would be okay, he was on the first flight to the US. Now he’s hoping that effort will be worthwhile when the final international friendly of the season plays out in New Jersey in the early hours of tomorrow morning.

“Some players have their positions, Shane and Robbie. But I think everywhere else there are still chances to show the manager what you can do. I’m pretty sure he’ll have an idea.

“I was desperate to get over really, I came over on Friday which was a long day. I just made the bus to get to the Costa Rica game.”

He still doesn’t know what happened during a post-season trip to Dubai.

“By the time I landed I was struggling to drive home from the airport. I got a good night’s sleep but the next morning I woke up the same, just really, really bad headaches. My eyes were really sore and I couldn’t look up at the light, I was struggling all day and went to hospital that night and they just put me straight through.”

He was tested for meningitis as a precaution and then he had to deal with the stress of his daughter falling ill too. Not an ideal way to celebrate a great end to the season with Stoke.

“I was playing well until I got sent off,” he said of the incident in early March when he was handed a three-match ban for a late tackle on Norwich’s Alexander Tettey.

“Then the lads done well. We went on a great run. After February, from then onwards, we had a really good finish to the season.

“Once I missed them few games, it was hard to get back in. It was four weeks of a suspension and then the next four weeks I played just 25 minutes.

“The second to last game I came on and scored against Fulham and I started the last game. I was happy with the way we finished and then getting a couple of games.

“It was first top 10 finish which is what we aimed for. We hit our targets — the aim now is to just keep going.”

His more immediate personal aim to is to have another say for the Boys in Green after his goalscoring substitute appearance against Turkey.

“Yeah I was happy with the goal. When you get on the pitch you just have to try to do as much as you can.

“There are a lot of lads who want to play so we’ll see what team he picks. But I’d like to be involved.”