How the Irish fared: Stephen Ward in from the cold as Burnley bury Middlesbrough hopes

Stephen Ward has had a curious and challenging season. Appearances have been rare. The 30-year-old had to wait until the final set of Championship fixtures in 2015 to make his first league start of the season for Burnley.

Oddly, this long period of club inactivity didn’t seem to unduly bother Martin O’Neill. Ward played his part in the famous 1-0 win over Germany at the Aviva Stadium in October, and went on to start in the first leg of the play-off against Bosnia-Herzegovina.

But he remained out in the cold at Burnley and a January move looked inevitable. But suddenly the picture looks a little different.