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International caps should only be handed out for the right reasons: Republic captain Seamus Coleman

Republic of Ireland's Seamus Coleman (left) says patriotism should form part of a player's thinking when they want to play international football
Republic of Ireland's Seamus Coleman (left) says patriotism should form part of a player's thinking when they want to play international football Republic of Ireland's Seamus Coleman (left) says patriotism should form part of a player's thinking when they want to play international football

Nations League Group B: Denmark v Republic of Ireland (tonight, Aarhus, 7.45pm)

SEAMUS Coleman says international caps should be earned rather than be thrown around in a bid to keep players on board with Ireland.

Speaking at last night’s press briefing in Aarhus, the Republic of Ireland captain leapt to the defence of manager Martin O’Neill for not rushing to cap Southampton teenager Michael Obafemi.

Born in Dublin to Nigerian parents, Obafemi said he was committed to playing for the Republic of Ireland after being an unused substitute in last Thursday night’s international friendly with Northern Ireland.

The fleet-footed attacker is among the squad for tonight’s last group game in the Nations League, but O'Neill refused to be drawn on whether the 18-year-old striker would earn a competitive debut in Aarhus tonight.

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Some observers believe the manager should cap Obafemi so that he can’t be poached by Nigeria or England – the two other nations the player is eligible to play for.

The shadow of Declan Rice still hangs over every Martin O’Neill press conference. The West Ham player came up through the Republic’s underage ranks and made three friendly appearances under O’Neill, but he has taken time out to decide whether to commit to Ireland or England after Gareth Southgate made an approach.

"Michael [Obafemi] has been great,” said Coleman.

“He is a strong boy and he scored a few fine finishes in training and he has been great around the camp.

"We have been happy to have him in with us.

“The proudest thing growing up that I have ever done is to put on that green shirt.

"You just cannot be handed out caps, not just Michael in particular. Michael has done great but it cannot be a case, as the manager said about Declan [Rice], if he was not playing for West Ham, you can't just go: ‘Right, we'll give you a game so you stay with us'.

Coleman added: "If the lad wants to stay with us, then great but you cannot be given a cap just to tie you down because the media says that you could go and play for England or Wales or whatever the case may be.

"You have got to want to play for your country and earn it."

Coleman reiterated his claim that the players needed to take more responsibility on the field.

The Killybegs native was livid with the lack of responsibility among the Irish players during last Thursday night’s tepid performance against the north.

“Look, it’s the same at club level: players on the pitch have to look for the ball, get angles on the ball.

“If I’ve the ball and don’t have two or three people looking for it, maybe I’ll give it away and it looks like it was my fault.

“It’s a collective thing, we didn’t look good against Northern Ireland and hopefully we can look a lot better [against Denmark].”

For most of 2018 – where the Republic have claimed just one win in eight outings – the manager has experimented with a 3-5-2 system, with only moderate success.

Both Coleman and James McClean – the latter suspended for tonight’s clash in Aarhus – struggled to get to grips with the wing-back roles against Northern Ireland.

Throughout, the pair looked tentative so given the shortcomings of the system O’Neill may be tempted to revert back to a 4-4-2 for tonight’s Denmark encounter.

“[Playing wing-back] is different to the full-back role,” Coleman explained. “But it's not something I haven't played before.

“I played it a few times at Everton. You're receiving the ball in different body positions or whatever. You're expected to get up the pitch more often than not rather than at full-back, where you are a bit deeper.

“But I am comfortable playing both and once I am playing for my country, I will play wherever and I enjoy both.”

The Republic squad watched the Ireland rugby team’s incredible win over New Zealand on Saturday night, with Coleman hoping there are still a few big nights left in the footballers.

“We all sat down to watch it and to beat the All Blacks was amazing. We should be very proud. All of the supporters are rightly proud and we were supporting them. It was a great night for the country.

“We were massively inspired. They were wearing that green Ireland jersey and when they are wearing that we are all together.

“But we have a job to do now. We have to put in a big performance for ourselves but as the manager says we have had some big nights ourselves and we are looking forward to getting back to those big nights.”