James McClean has captained Ireland in the past, and if you were in any doubt as to the qualities that earned him that honour, then read on.
Dublin youngster Dara O'Shea found himself on the fringes of the West Brom first team having been promoted to the senior squad for the pre-season tour before going out on loan to Hereford for a taste of first-team football.
In O'Shea's time training with the first-team, he snaffled McClean's attention. The winger has some sage words of advice, however.
I like Dara a lot, I think he's got a real good chance. He's a no-nonsense defender and I think if he believed in himself a bit more, he'll have a real chance of playing at a decent level. Like I said, he's a no-nonsense defender and a good defender. I just think he needs to believe in himself a bit more and get a bit more confidence. Having trained with him most days, I believe he's got a real chance.
Obviously being Irish you're going to have a bit more interest. I remember the very first game of pre-season, we made 11 changes at half-time and brought Dara on in the second half.
I think he was a bit nervous on the ball, trying to force things a little and I remember having a word with him at the airport, saying 'if you believe in yourself more and relax, you can be a really good defender. Just try to keep it as simple as possible'. I'll try to give him as much advice as possible and hopefully he takes it on board.
Another player who has leaned on McClean's advice is his brother, Patrick, who yesterday signed a deal with Sligo Rovers. His presence at the club has even tempered some of James' ambitions for Derry City this season.
I hope Derry City win every game this season apart from four, I hope they lose four to Sligo because obviously family comes first.
It’s great up there at the moment, they’ve got the whole new stadium and it’s looking the part.
Being away from the Brandywell last season wasn’t ideal, the only disappointment is they put in a 4G pitch which I think is just madness. I’m old school, I believe football should be played on grass and that’s it.
It was obviously disappointing for Derry to lose their first game at Waterford but they brought on a lot of players so for Derry to have a good season those players are going to have to gel pretty quickly.
I don’t really know too much about the new players they brought in so I can’t really judge how they’re going to fare this season but like I said, I hope they have a good season with just the five defeats, obviously have lost the one already.
James McClean was speaking at the launch of Neymar Jr’s Five, Red Bull’s unique five-a-side football tournament for men and women, To participate in the regional qualifiers this February, teams of five to seven players must register at www.neymarjrsfive.com
