Martinez muddies the waters

SOCCER:Speculation from the Wigan manager about James McCarthy's career has not helped, writes MARY HANNIGAN

WHILE ALL the indications this week from those closest to James McCarthy are that he has no intention of switching his allegiance from the Republic of Ireland to Scotland, and was at a loss to understand the renewed speculation about the issue, remarks by his Wigan manager yesterday did not help to dampen the fire.

Roberto Martinez made no suggestion that the 20-year-old had expressed any doubts to him, personally, about which country he wishes to play for, but the Spaniard’s view was that McCarthy still “needs to think” about the issue.

“I do not know if it is a decision for him to make now or not,” he said. “We need to give him plenty of time. We need to respect him. He wants to help Wigan. For me that is fantastic. It (international football) is something he needs to think about with his family, with his friends.

“It is something very, very deep. But I do not think he has focused on that at all, although it is great to have two nations fighting over you. James is probably the most mature 20-year-old in football. It is a compliment to him. I don’t think it is going to affect him. It is going to give him a more arrogant feeling, if you want.”

Quite why Martinez chose to openly speculate about his player’s international allegiances is unclear, when McCarthy himself, publicly at least, has expressed no such doubts.

The fresh speculation about his intentions was kick-started when he withdrew from the Republic’s squad for Tuesday’s game against Wales, citing the not unreasonable need to rest having played four games in 12 days for Wigan after an ankle injury had kept him out of action for the previous three months. He required treatment during two of those games, and has suffered pain in the ankle since his return.

“It wasn’t the right time for him to go,” said Martinez. “He could not have coped with the physical demands. That’s it really. I spoke with the Republic of Ireland staff to make sure they knew the programme James was on.”

Giovanni Trapattoni, though, appeared to take the player’s withdrawal as a sign he was undecided about his international future – while admitting he had not actually spoken with McCarthy to clarify the situation.

“He is 20-years-old, he can decide freely. ‘I like Scotland, I like Ireland’. He has the possibility,” he said. “He knows our position – he knows we like him. He can decide. It’s his heart that decides.”

Trapattoni also alluded to McCarthy’s agent, and while it was difficult to interpret exactly what he meant – “He’s 21 old. And when I was player, Marco (Tardelli, Trapattoni’s assistant) was player, at 21 we were man. We take the decision. I don’t wait my agent to tell me what to do” – the implication seemed to be that the player’s head was being turned in a Scottish direction.

When asked if he had taken the time to travel to see McCarthy in action this season, thus giving him the chance to speak to the player in person, the Italian replied: “I don’t need to go watch him. Marco Tardelli saw him four times.”

Having made his international debut at under-17 in 2007, McCarthy has appeared just once in a senior game for the Republic, as a substitute against Brazil in last February’s friendly in London. Until he is capped in a competitive game, though, he remains free to switch to Scotland, the country of his birth.

He qualified to play for the Republic through his late grandfather, Paddy Coyle, a native of Gweedore, Co Donegal, his story not dissimilar to that of Aiden McGeady, who he succeeded as Scotland’s Young Player of the Year in 2008-09 when he played for Hamilton Academicals.

“I’m happy with Ireland and I wouldn’t go back on my decision,” he said in 2009, “Ireland have been great to me – they’ve looked after me, so I’m not going to turn my back on them.” It was a decision, made at 15, that, again like McGeady, earned him abuse from the terraces in Scotland. “I can handle it, no bother,” he said at the time. “It just goes in one ear and out the other. Like I say, most of these guys are idiots.”

Until he earns that competitive cap, though – and Trapattoni said this week he would name McCarthy in his squad for next month’s European qualifier against Macedonia (“After that, it is up to him to decide”) – Scottish hopes of persuading him to switch allegiances remain alive. And the indications are that their manager, Craig Levein, who refused to comment this week on any attempts he might make to coax the player in to declaring for Scotland, hasn’t yet given up on McCarthy.

If that were to happen – and, again, there is absolutely no indication that it will – Trapattoni’s clumsy handling of the situation this week and his failure to make direct contact with McCarthy will not have convinced the gifted player his future is with Ireland.

Trapattoni after all didn’t even name him in his original squad for the game against Wales. That 3-0 victory over Wales aside it wasn’t, in terms of player relations at least, the best of weeks for the Italian. Kevin Kilbane was upset about being informed by fax he had been left out of the squad, although Trapattoni insisted he had texted him, while Darron Gibson was unlikely to have been elated by the manager’s renewed – public – insistence that he needed to leave Manchester United to further his career. The last time Trapattoni offered such advice to the midfielder, in September, Gibson replied: “He’s having a laugh!”

Losing a talent like McCarthy to Scotland would be far from a laughing matter though. “James McCarthy is going to be one of the top footballers in Europe,” said Martinez, “what a player to have for your country.”

Which country, though?