Scott Hogan reveals why he took so long to declare for Ireland

Their loss is our gain.

It was just last week that reports came flooding out that Scott Hogan would declare for the Republic of Ireland.  There was a bit of uncertainty about the whole thing, he'd long been on the radar for Irish football fans yet there was no declaration. Of course, the natural assumption was that the Salford born footballer was waiting for a possible call up to the England squad but eventually it was announced that his intention was to play for the boys in green. Hogan is eligible through his fathers family and is now waiting for Irish citizenship to be approved before being eligible for selection for Martin O'Neill's side. The 24-year-old recently spoke to The Times about the reason that he took so long to announce his intentions and they are very reasonable. “When I first met Martin O’Neill I explained to him that I had had two years out with injuries and I said to him ‘just let me get back playing, let me get a full season under my belt’. That is how it has panned out,” Hogan said. “Then we got in touch with him. There was no issue with me saying I am waiting for this or I am going to do this. It was always that case and the manager knew that and was fine with it. That is why it was left so long. It has just gone as organised with the manager really. I am just waiting for it to go through and then it should be okay.” The addition of Hogan to the squad is a huge boost to a forward line that is clearly ageing, Shane Long turned 30 back in January and Jon Walters quickly approaching his 34th birthday. However, with the 24-year-old  now set to feature in the squad in the future with 23-year-old Sean Maguire, there is now more reason than ever to be optimistic about the Irish team going forward.