McClean on Grealish: If you don’t want to play for a country then you shouldn’t

"If you don't want to play for a country then you shouldn't play for them," McClean told BBC Radio Foyle as he returned home to see former side Derry City fall to Shamrock Rovers in the EA Sports Cup last night.

"Look, I'm sure the lad will make whatever decision he makes. I love playing for my country and all the rest of the lads do who play there. If anyone doesn't want to play then so be it. Go and play for someone else, that's my view of it." Republic of Ireland boss Martin O'Neill had offered Grealish, who is eligible to play for both the Republic of Ireland and England, an invitation to be a part of his squad for the upcoming friendly against England and the crucial Euro 2016 qualifier against Scotland, which the Villa youngster turned down. It's not known whether Grealish would have featured against the Scots due to the significance of that game and his inexperience at international level and McClean is in no doubt as to just how important the match at the Aviva is. "If we don't win, I think we can kiss goodbye to France," he claimed. "It's something to look forward to. Look, we didn't perform in Scotland and we know that but we have a chance to make amends now and if we get three points it would set us up nicely and give us a real chance of getting to France." After Wigan crashed out of the Championship and with talk of a move to MLS, McClean refused to shed light on where he will be plying his trade next season.