As people in his position always do when James McClean is talking, the press officer flanking him looks decidedly anxious. Few players have generated quite so much controversy over the last couple of seasons and every time the 24-year-old is asked anything about Giovanni Trapattoni, Paolo Di Canio or his many and varied tangles on twitter, the guy from the FAI appears to hold his breath.
McClean, though, has clearly been working on his pitchside patter; with, one suspects, some help from the professionals. In all, he speaks with a couple of dozen journalists from almost as many outlets in two groups for 20 minutes or so and at no point is he involved in what might, PR-wise, be considered a car crash.
That said, he’s not apologising for any of his previous pile ups.
“Look,” he says, “I’m a lad from Derry and that probably went against me a bit. But that’s how it is. I learned the hard way because the whole thing, including the spotlight, was new to me. So I have matured a lot.”
So . . . regrets, eh . . . have a few? “No, none at all,” he says firmly. “I am who I am.”
It’s an attitude that has, shall we say, divided people with regard to the Derryman. Up North and in Britain he has courted controversy with his politically charged tweets, refusal to play in a Sunderland shirt emblazoned with a poppy and assertion that no Catholic could feel comfortable playing for Northern Ireland.
Here, he became a cause celebre amongst Trapattoni's critics with a declaration after the narrow defeat of Kazakhstan, also via twitter that read: "delighted as a fan we got the win. Personal level #fuming #*****joke #embarrassing."
Obliged to apologise
The Italian intervened immediately on that occasion and the young winger was obliged to apologise to his team-mates. Martin O'Neill, meanwhile, gave the impression more than once that he was at his wit's end with the player. "He sat me down and said 'you can't do this and that and concentrate on your football, you'll learn from this'," he recalls.
“Both managers had a word with me (in fact) and looking back I probably haven’t been the easiest to work with for them.” They weren’t the only ones, he acknowledges when asked about the attitude of clubmate John O’Shea: “I think at times John thinks he’s my dad,” he says with a grin, “he tells me off a lot of time.”
He has, he maintains, got the message at this stage, however: "I've taken it on board and I've matured a bit . . . hopefully it's all behind me." The early indications are promising enough. He has a controversial new manager at club level – a right winger to go nicely with him, the club's controversial left winger, as somebody observed at the time.
Begins to relax
And yesterday he was left bibless at the Ireland training session in which the team began to take shape but he is diplomacy itself about the manager, his team selection and the importance of the entire squad pulling together in order to secure maximum points. Beside him, the communications person is beginning to relax.
On Di Canio, it still seems however, he may have more to say at some point because his repeated assertion that the Italian is different to other managers; “I’ll say no more on it,” suggests a thumb that is still itching to tweet. He says those days are behind him, of course, but we shall see. On Ireland, he sounds slightly more convincing even if, initially at least, he sound a little like he has learned his lines.
“Look, the manager picks the team and if I’m not starting, I’m going to be disappointed like anyone else who’s not starting but I’ll be willing and ready if called upon. The main thing is getting three points, hopefully we can secure three points whatever way.”
It’s a far from Astana: “Aye, we’ve put that behind us,” he says, loosening up slightly. “We had a chat a couple of days after that happened. It was stupid from me. At the end of the day he’s the manager, he picks the team and I’ve no given right to be in it. I think we’ve moved on from there and I’ve a good relationship with him.”
It may not be helped if, as expected, he starts tomorrow night’s game on the bench but McClean’s performance against Georgia when he set up two of Ireland’s goals will certainly improve his chances of featuring at some point and he will, he insists, settle for that happily enough.
It’s like, you might argue, it says on his tattoo: “Learn from yesterday. Live for today. Hope for tomorrow.” Yeah, he says,” with his smile back: “it’s a great motto but I got it this year which is a bit ironic.”
