Gloves off as Martin O’Neill blasts Ronald Koeman's rant
For his part, the Ireland manager has pulled no punches with his own robust response, suggesting Koeman should be “excruciatingly embarrassed” by his take on the controversy and describing the Dutchman’s comments as “nonsense”.
Ireland’s two games last month marked McCarthy’s return to action after groin surgery in September, with Koeman angered by the fact the midfielder played the full match against Georgia and 81 minutes against Moldova.
However, yesterday, O’Neill insisted he had not taken a risk with the 26-year-old.
“First of all he declared himself fit,” he said. “The injury he had, he said it wouldn’t affect him and the only thing that would affect him would be tiredness. He got through the first game and I thought he was starting to labour in the second match which was no surprise to me. And we took him off in the game. But he left us pain-free. He played a game and three-fifths of the matches. And the next thing I know, I hear they are talking about us overloading him.
“But he trained (at Everton) on the Thursday, the very day he (Koeman) was talking. He trained. I spoke to James and he said ‘I trained today’. So James is in a difficult PTT situation because Everton pay their wages, that’s true. I understand that and he’s first and foremost an Everton player. But when he comes on international duty, if he’s fit for selection then he’s got a chance of playing in the games. So I was surprised about it, this idea we killed him. He did brilliantly to recover then. Lazarus. Amazing.”
When it was put to him Koeman had used some extraordinary language in his complaints about how Ireland had deployed McCarthy, O’Neill didn’t disagree: “Yes, it was, that we ‘killed’ him” - and he also made a point of emphasising the midfielder featured in Everton’s next game, against Manchester City.
“He played on the Saturday! So if I was a manager, I would be excruciatingly embarrassed by it, to turn around and blame somebody for playing. How can you come out and say the player is being killed and overloaded and then you play him on the Saturday? It was nonsense, nonsense.
“By the way, Seamus Coleman played for us out in Serbia, his first for a while and that game did him the world of good (in being able) to play for Everton the following week. I didn’t hear them saying ‘You played him in the game’.” McCarthy, as it happens, is once more a major doubt for Ireland as he recovers from a hamstring tear sustained in training with his club – a new injury which O’Neill insists has no connection to the previous groin problem.
“His latest injury has got nothing to do with us,” he said. “I do not play players, never have done, who are not fit. And, in fact, I have actually been so cautious about that there because I was a club manager myself.
“At the end of the day, James had not done a lot of work - that is true - but he trained and felt fine in the games and so we’ll play him. If he’d been feeling the injury he wouldn’t have played the first game. He got through the game and he was able to start the second match.”
Doubtless Ronald Koeman will not be placated by the fact O’Neill has again included McCarthy in his provisional 35-man squad for the World Cup qualifier against Austria in Vienna on Saturday week. However, the Ireland manager admits the midfielder is in a race against time to be fit.
“James is improving day by day but if the game was this weekend, then he would not make it,” he said. “For the following weekend then I would say he would be doubtful at this minute. He would need to get some proper training in but we’re leaving him in the provisional squad and we’ll see how things go.
“But he would not make it this weekend and would need to do something before the game.”
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