Garry Buckley: Seanie Maguire needs ‘magic plane’ for Ireland boarding call
O’Neill this week named his 38-man extended squad for the games against Mexico, Uruguay, and the World Cup qualifier against Austria, and Maguire missed out.
O’Neill is monitoring the Kilkenny man’s progress but says there are “a couple of lads in front of him at the moment”.
Maguire has been linked with a string of English and Scottish clubs in recent months as his goals have helped fire the Leesiders top of the SSE Airtricity Premier Division.
Buckley believes Maguire wasn’t called up because he is plying his trade in the domestic league.
“I’m surprised Seanie was not in the Ireland squad,” said Buckley yesterday.
“It’s tough, not many League of Ireland players get called up. Maybe if he gets a move down the line, and no doubt he will, that ‘magic plane’ will get him into the squad. I’m sure Seanie will get a call sooner rather than later.”
Either way, Maguire and Buckley have more pressing matters to attend to, as they focus on Friday’s home clash with Drogheda United, with the Turner’s Cross outfit look to get back to winning ways.
Gearóid Morrissey, Steven Beattie, and Karl Sheppard are all injury worries for John Caulfield, as Cork face three league games in a week, with a tough trip to Sligo Rovers next Tuesday and a revitalised Shamrock Rovers coming to town on Friday, May 26.
The league leaders were held 1-1 at Galway United last weekend, ending a 12-match winning streak in the Premier Division. It left Buckley with mixed feelings.
“It was disappointing to lose the winning streak but we’ve 12 wins and a draw in the first 13 games — we’d have bitten your hand off for that,” said the midfielder.
“People can stop talking now and we can get on with it. We’ve won nothing yet.”
Buckley has been enjoying an impressive season himself, with four goals to his credit, and is determined to push on.
“We can’t rely on Seanie to score all the goals,” he said dryly.
“I’m expecting a lot more goals because I’m playing higher up. I have set a target but I’m not going to say what it is. I’ve had a bit of streak scoring but i think my general play can be improved and I can get even more.”
The EA Sports Cup semi-final draw takes place at 6pm today. Cork, Shamrock Rovers, Galway, and Dundalk are in the hat.
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