Gloves off as Martin O’Neill blasts Ronald Koeman's rant

Martin O’Neill has let rip at Ronald Koeman after the Everton manager accused him of “overloading” and “killing” James McCarthy by playing him in the last two World Cup qualifiers against Georgia and Moldova.

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.