Ken Early: James McClean continues to thrive on passion

It's a reasonable bet that if you were to conduct a poll to discover which Republic of Ireland player was the current favourite of the Ireland fans, the winner would be James McClean.

The goal he scored to win the match against Austria was his best yet for his country. Actually, it was one of the best goals Ireland have scored in years – a clinical counter-attack that swept from end to end in the grand style of Real Madrid, with McClean playing the role of Cristiano Ronaldo.

It was reminiscent of a goal McClean scored four and a half years ago for Sunderland against Stoke, in a snowstorm at the Britannia Stadium. There was the same long-striding burst through the defence and the same low finish, full of conviction.

McClean had made his debut for Sunderland only three months previously and he was still in the first golden glow of his breakthrough. Seeing that goal at the time was enough to make you think he should be pushing hard for a starting place in Ireland's team at Euro 2012. Giovanni Trapattoni, of course, thought otherwise.

Optimists

Where the optimists among the fans and media saw a confident young talent riding a wave of form, Trapattoni saw a raw and inexperienced player who was enjoying some beginner’s luck.

McClean chafed at being left on Trapattoni’s bench, and, typically, shared his frustration on Twitter, but the story of his career over the next couple of years seemed to prove Trap right.

Sunderland’s form nosedived and so did McClean’s. Martin O’Neill left the club, and his successor Paolo di Canio had no time for McClean.

In his breakthrough season, McClean had played with a confidence that seemed bulletproof. Now he was playing for a disintegrating team, against defenders he could no longer surprise. He stopped scoring and creating. Doubt began to catch up with him. Was he really good enough to make it at this level? Was this move to England going to work out?

When you consider how precarious his career situation was at that point, it makes it all the more remarkable to think that his relationship with the Sunderland fans soured because of his refusal to wear the Remembrance poppy. I can remember seeing him booed by the Sunderland supporters in November 2012 as he came on as a substitute in a defeat at Fulham. He was sold to Wigan before the start of the following season.

A lot has been written about McClean’s poppy struggle over the years. There are those who agree with him that the poppy is a symbol of British militarism and the manifestation of a sinister strain of coercive nationalism. There are those who are disgusted by his rejection of what they see as a simple symbol of respect and remembrance.

Whatever your view on the political point, the mere fact of his stance told you something important about McClean. Very few players would have been prepared to make a lonely public stand on a political issue in the certain knowledge that this was going to make life more difficult for them – to the extent of putting their career at risk.

It showed that he was that rare type of person who will always stand up for themselves even when it would be more convenient to let it slide. Even if you were one of those that didn’t detect the ugly undertones in the poppy campaign, you had to admit that he had revealed a certain toughness and strength of character.

And this quality is what has brought him back from the bottom of the Championship to where he is today. He went to Wigan, he played consistently well in a bad team, and he earned a move back to the Premier League with West Brom.

Tony Pulis is a poppy-venerating hard man who is obsessed with military history and thinks young people should be made to do National Service. In other words, he comes from precisely the demographic that is most likely to be offended by McClean. But Pulis was able to look past the details of McClean's political views to the personal qualities that underlay them. Selfless, tireless, and fearless, McClean is exactly his type of player.

Top level

McClean has spent the last season and a half playing every week in the Premier League. He knows now that he is good enough for the top level, he has proven it. With that security he has blossomed. His form no longer fluctuates. With confidence, he has become consistent, reliable. With eight international goals since 2014, he is Ireland’s top scorer since O’Neill became the manager.

He is still not, and never will be, the most technical forward; nobody is ever going to mix him up with David Silva. But he is quick, strong and energetic, and as O'Neill said on Saturday night, he has "a great, great attitude." Team-mates love him because they know he will never hide.

Supporters love him for that reason plus other reasons. In Vienna the Irish fans chanted “James McClean, he hates the f**king Queen.” That’s not really why they like him though.

The goalscoring helps, but what fans really respond to is McClean’s obvious love for what he does. As the Irish players walked off the field of victory they passed by one of the two pockets of Irish fans in the Prater. Most raised their hands to give the usual claps of acknowledgment. McClean gazed up, then punched the air hard, and got a big cheer in return. The game means everything to him, and for supporters, there’s nothing more beautiful.