Kevin Kilbane made his debut as a member of the 'Off The Ball' team on Newstalk on Tuesday night, as the former Ireland international will now be a regular part of the show in a signing that was well received by listeners who texted in to wish Zinedine well.
But it was another Ireland and Everton fullback that became the centre of the discussion as Seamus Coleman joined Joe Molloy over the phone. Coleman reaffirmed his love of Gaelic football although he did not want to discuss Donegal's result last weekend, and claimed that he was wondering whether he made the right decision shortly after opting for Sligo Rovers over the Donegal minors.
I missed it more so when I went to Sligo first because I was playing minors and I had to pick between county minors and Sligo, and I picked Sligo at the time which turned out to be a great decision but at the time I wasn't playing for Sligo and the county minors actually did really well that year, and I was thinking, you know, did I make the right decision?
But thankfully I stuck to my guns and it worked out well for me, but I did really enjoy [Gaelic football].
Coleman would continue to explain that there were many occasions when he questioned his decision, as he revealed that he used to get picked last in the 5-a-side on Fridays which made it tough to travel to and from training so regularly.
Look there was a lot of things about the time in Sligo, as I've said before, there were times like on a Friday when you'd have a game for a little bit of fun like a five-a-side or whatever and you'd be dreading it because you're getting picked last and all the rest because it was a big change from St.Catherine's, but I was lucky to have my dad and my mum.
It was the support and encouragement that saw Coleman continue to try and improve his game, and that is exactly what he did. When given a chance by Mick Cooke due to his engine and fitness he never looked back, and we're very grateful that he resisted the call from the minors as he seems a shoe-in to be named Ireland captain in the not-too-distant future.
It was, as always, a very pleasant interview with Coleman who described himself as a "homebird" and again expressed his desire to play for Killybegs when he is finished in England, and you can listen to it in full over on Newstalk.ie.
