Wigan manager Roberto Martinez has made ominous comments about the international career of James McCarthy, suggesting that he has a big decision to make.
McCarthy’s international future has been cast into uncertainty after the talented 20-year old pulled out of the squad for Tuesday night’s win over Wales in the Carling Nations Cup.
Despite being a regular with Premier League side Wigan, McCarthy has been overlooked by Giovanni Trapattoni for Ireland’s European Championship campaign thus far.
It is fair to say that the situation has been shoddily handled by Trapattoni and as McCarthy has yet to take part in a competitive international for Ireland, there is still a possibility that he could play for Scotland, where he was born and where he grew up.
His club manager, Martinez, has said that McCarthy is in a ‘deep, deep’ situation and that he should think long and hard before coming to a decision on his international future.
“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.”
Martinez insists he kept the Republic of Ireland fully informed about McCarthy, who was withdrawn after he scored twice in the 4-3 victory against Blackburn.
He said: “It wasn’t the right time for him to go. 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.
“When James got injured late in October he was so disappointed he just wanted to get back fully fit as quick as a he could. He told me then he needed to forget his international career and that was the conversation we had.
“If you look at his performance on Saturday, James McCarthy is going to be one of the top footballers in Europe. What a player to have for your country or club.”
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ podcast – listen to the latest episode now!
