Coleman's desire to perform in green has not waned with age
FIRE IN THE BELLY: Seamus Coleman, who will return to the Republic of Ireland action determined to make the most of the time he has left. Pic: John Walton, PA Wire.
Séamus Coleman insists the fire remains in his belly to prolong his Ireland career and remain available to the incoming manager.
Saturday’s friendly against Belgium will mark the Everton full-back’s 69th cap but his first in a year since the opening Euro 2024 qualifier defeat to France.
A medial ligament knee injury sustained against Leicester City in May 2023 – which he admits fears as a career-threatening ACL rupture – was carefully managed to ensure he was available to his club as early as possible into this Premier League campaign.
He’s yet to complete a top-flight 90 minutes and his last appearance came almost six weeks ago, off the bench against champions Manchester City, but he’s still an integral part of the Toffees operation despite their continued relegation struggles.
His future with Ireland has been less certain with speculation over his intentions within the upcoming era.
Coleman turns 36 in October and will be heading for 38 when the World Cup of 2026 comes around.
His litany of injuries has left behind wear and tear but the attitude and application of the Ireland captain are commodities the new chief would be minded to embrace.
If the Donegal man is to drift from the international stage, the soundbites suggest it won’t be of his making.
Much like Glenn Whelan, back in FAI garb this week as one of interim boss John O’Shea’s assistants, he will have to be retired rather than retire himself.
“The fire in the belly, let me tell you, is still burning strong,” affirmed the Everton skipper, speaking with gusto about the dawn of another calendar of 10 internationals kicking off this weekend.
“I suppose when you get to my stage, honestly, in the last few years I’ve always just been, I know it’s boring, that one day at a time, just be the best I can tomorrow and then carry on from that. If selected, of course.
“If things are going well for me physically, I’d love to be a part of it. But one day at a time.”
He added of breaking the cap drought: “In terms of coming back, it’s hard to walk away from something that you really love (but) I have to be honest with myself as well.
"I’ve always said if I felt in training back at Everton that people were skipping past me in training and that it didn’t feel right, I’d have to have a good, hard look at myself.
“The games I’ve played in this year, I’ve felt good. I’ve played against some good wingers this season and I’ve felt good, I’ve felt strong. I’ll be honest with myself when that time comes, but for as long as I can I won’t say no to my national team, absolutely not.”
Matters could have been removed from his control at the King Power Stadium.
Similar to when Neal Taylor broke his leg in 2017 with a late tackle, Coleman had a sense of foreboding when Leicester's Boubakary Soumaré clattered into his knee.
“That was a scare because I kind of thought that might have been it,” he confessed. “It looked to be a bad injury but thankfully I got away without it being an ACL which was important at my age and at the time.
“I am not getting any younger but I do know from lads who got ACLs in the past that it is a nine to 12 month recovery. My contract was up at the end of that season so I wasn’t sure.
“To be honest, I wasn’t really bothered as you could see when I was coming off on a stretcher.
“It was like 'right, we could be in real trouble here, this will be my parting act to the group'.
"I tried to rile the fans up when going off on a stretcher.”
The mystery man about to become his fourth permanent Ireland boss will rely on the veteran for more than just his motivational skills.
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