James McClean aiming to add sparkle to career
It is just over three years since he signed a much-improved deal at Sunderland and one that was only due to end this very summer. It was signed on the back of just three whirlwind months, starting with his debut under Martin O’Neill in December 2011.
It looked then like his fellow Derryman had unleashed a star in the making and, though McClean soon came to resemble more a fleeting comet, the memory remains of his combustible energy and fearlessness on the wing when unveiled at the Stadium of Light.
He scored goals and he made goals, but there was always a fear that his raw attributes would be blunted the more opposing defenders and managers saw of him, and his journey towards the bottom reaches of the Championship this last season seem to reflect that.
It has been a difficult few years, no doubt about it, but he has kept his head above the rising tide, honing his trade with the Latics, for whom he scored six goals and ended the campaign just gone as their player of the year, while again playing a significant role for his country.
“I was very raw back then,” he said of his Sunderland days, “but that comes with playing with no fear. For one reason or another, things kind of went sour a bit, but I feel that I’m an all-round better player now and I’m looking forward to the [Scotland] game, putting my case forward and doing well.”
Even Wigan’s website speaks of his “continued development” in English football in relation to the 2013/14 season, which was his first at the club, and he admits to soaking up the words of managers and assimilating experiences gained on the pitch, himself.
“Just a lot about myself as a person and things like that on the pitch, intelligence on the pitch,” he explained when asked where improvements have been logged. “I was just doing things off the cuff, maybe, before.
“Now, maybe I’ve a better understanding around the pitch and a better understanding of my team-mates and positions I should be in. I think I’ve matured as a player. Hopefully, I can put the past behind me and look forward to showing that I’m a better player.”
Where and when he gets to further his case is another thing. Enquiries as to his search for a new club were met with a smile and the reflection that his ‘no news here’ responses are beginning to make him sound like a “broken record player”, but some action at the Aviva this weekend would do his job prospects no harm.
He may or may not start against the Scots, as his gritty tackling and ability to inject pace into a pedestrian Irish display when introduced against Poland in the last qualifier could just as easily make a case for another impact role as a starting berth. He won’t be helped by the passage of the six weeks since Wigan’s last Championship outing, against Brentford. The cameo he played against England last week and the days spent prepping in Malahide will have only done so much to offset that.
“Look, you want to make an impact, regardless. You’ve a job and that’s trying to get to the Euros and, as a player, you look back on your career and times like that don’t come around too often. So, from an individual point, you want to get in the team.”
The wider picture is finely poised. Lose or draw and France 2016 will fade further into the distance. Win and O’Neill’s side will turn towards games against Gibraltar and Georgia that should yield six points and turn the screw on the Scots, who this week have been applying the psychological screw.
“Maybe so, it depends on how their mindset is. If we win, we are not really too focused on them. We have a round of fixtures left, starting on Saturday, and it’s about how we do, not about how anyone else does. If we get enough points on the table we will be the ones to qualify or reach the play-offs and we won’t really care about the teams behind us.”
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