‘I love this country!’ – McClean delighted with Euro 2016 qualification

Walters has rejoined Stoke on a high this week after scoring twice against Bosnia on Monday to secure Ireland’s place at Euro 2016 next summer.

“I understand it was a very important game, about qualification, but if I’m national coach I don’t put a player in after five or six weeks with only one training session”.

“Every time you work with players, from a selfish point of view, you always think that there is more to come”.

“This is everything, it’s what we have played for for the last two years”.

“We had won a big game in Georgia in the opening game”. Let’s try to surprise a few people. We won’t be short of hunger, desire and determination.

“If you are driven back in games, as we were by Germany as you would expect as they had a lot of possession and were really world class players and are world champions, that is understandable”.

“It’s hard coming away from your family; it’s not just the players it’s everybody the physios, kit men, security staff, medics but we’re a close bunch”.

O’Neill was replaced by Paolo di Canio, whose initial impact helped them avoid relegation, but he did not last long, and the Sunderland job has been a revolving door of managers ever since, with the club clinging onto Premier League survival, and already changing their boss this season. His stock has soared because people in football have seen a different side to him as a No2.

Roy Keane will sit down with Martin O’Neill over the next fortnight to discuss his Ireland future after admitting that he still harbours strong ambitions to return to club management.

He said: “I don’t want to speak too much about that because it could have consequences, but the referee had a awful night”. That was never going to be easy, but we made it and I am absolutely delighted.

Definitely one of the players to emerge with his reputation in tact following Bosnia’s defeat to Ireland in the play-off. I’ve been a little bit more hands-on, which I’ve enjoyed. But I have been in these situations before, both as a player and a manager. It’s worked out well.

“The manager deserves great credit”. “We’ll have that conversation in a few months”. “I don’t know”, he added. The task for O’Neill between now and the tournament is to think about replacements for the campaign to qualify for the World Cup in Russian Federation in 2018. “He knows that I still have that ambition to get back in the ring but I also love my role with Ireland”.

“I’m not one for networking and I’m not one for applying for jobs”.

But when it mattered most, O’Neill’s green machine started to shift through the gears and a September friendly win over Oman kick-started a roller-coaster ride.

‘We don’t have many Derby lads going to France.