The West Ham United midfielder made a u-turn on his international preference last month.
James McClean has said that players like West Ham United’s Declan Rice who switch international allegiances can ‘sod off’ if they’re not up for representing the Republic of Ireland.
The West Ham midfielder dazzled on his full England debut in the 5-1 win in Montenegro on Monday.
It was Rice’s first start for the Three Lions since snubbing the Republic of Ireland, whom he had represented in friendlies.
The 20-year-old prodigy, born in England, said in his statement that he was a ‘proud Englishman’ but the Stoke City winger, who hails from the North of Ireland, said others need not use the Boys in Green as a ‘stepping stone’ toward furthering their careers with another nation.
“He said he was a proud Irishman. Then he said he was a proud Englishman. If he’s both… good luck to him but I don’t buy it. I think you’re either one or the other,” McClean, a £5 million signing by Stoke last summer [The Irish Times], told RTE.
“I was with Derry City when I got the call-up to play for the North and I turned it down because it’s not my country, it’s never been my country. I’m an Irishman.
“It’s not just Declan, it’s anyone else. If you’re not proud to be here and we’re a stepping stone then sod off and play for someone else.”
Rice didn’t use the Irish as a stepping stone. Given his undeniable talent, he would have played his way on to the England manager’s radar eventually, regardless of his previous non-competitive appearances for the Republic of Ireland.
He has been tearing it up for the Irons this season and if he has a preference toward England, the country of his birth, then that decision has to be respected, despite previously declaring for another nation.
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