James McClean maintains his stance against wearing poppy

Speaking to the West Brom programme on Saturday, the Republic of Ireland international revealed he would not wear a poppy next month and will stand up for his beliefs. 

He said: “If I didn’t stand by principles, if I didn’t have beliefs, I wouldn’t be the person I am and I probably wouldn’t be in the Premier League. Standing up for things is in my character. I was brought up to be honest and stay true to myself.

“Coming from where I do, we are proud people, we wear our hearts on our sleeves, that’s who I am, on and off the field. Sometimes it gets me into trouble, but the frustrating thing about that is the way I’m portrayed rather than the truth of it, and so I want to take the chance to make it clear to Albion supporters what I’m about.