Fleeting though it has been, James McClean’s career already feels like a series of frozen moments, from a brutal December evening at Eppleton Colliery Welfare Ground, when he stood tall in a gale in front of Martin O’Neill, to his season-shifting first-team debut for Sunderland, to the lack of fear that pushes and propels him, there has been an epic quality to his progress.
The past year has taken him from Derry City to Wearside for £350,000, seen him come on as a substitute in O’Neill’s first game in charge — inspiring Sunderland to a crucial victory over Blackburn Rovers — become a stellar presence, play for Ireland and close his Twitter account after receiving death threats. McClean should be breathless, yet he is not. “It is an amazing story, because he has exceeded all expectations,” O’Neill said.
Ahead of him lies the biggest peak of all, a leading tournament and a group game against Spain, the European and world champions. While he is not expected to start against Croatia, his country’s first match in Poland and Ukraine — Giovanni Trapattoni is both conservative and a loyalist — O’Neill is adamant that the 23-year-old winger is both ready and equipped to sparkle.
“My own view is that I don’t particularly care who plays full back for Spain — James has the capability of getting past him,” O’Neill told The Times. “He’s just got this inner sense of self-belief. He’s still got a lot to learn, like choosing his moment, when to get the ball under control, give it quickly, take a breather, and get it back again, but all those type of things will come.”
While McClean was signed under Steve Bruce, it was O’Neill who elevated him from the reserve squad when Sunderland were floundering near the foot of the Barclays Premier League. His initial impressions were not effusive, yet he saw a glimmer, something worthy of a chance, a shot to nothing. It is the kind of decision that makes a manager.
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“The first time I saw him was for Sunderland’s reserves and it was a terrible evening,” O’Neill said. “The wind was howling around, it was bitterly cold and the pitch wasn’t the best. He actually didn’t start all that brilliantly, although he wasn’t alone in that. It was hard for everybody to contend with the conditions but, after a quiet five or ten minutes, he came into it and what he did, he did pretty well.
“Then when he came on against Blackburn, when we were losing 1-0, the first time he got the ball, he got past the full back and put a cross over. Although it was cleared, it gave everybody renewed hope. That moment and the following ten minutes were really, really important for the football club. His emergence and the two late goals were the defining point of our season. He was the one who sparked it.”
McClean feels like a throwback; unafraid to take on defenders, unafraid full stop. The scale of his rise is dizzying and it brought him a first full cap for the Irish in February, having represented Northern Ireland’s Under-21 side. Although the controversy that followed — and some injudicious remarks of his own — resulted in a cessation of tweeting, he remains unfazed.
“I’ll tell you what’s remarkable, with younger players, you often get a surge but then they taper off, not because of their ability or a lack of confidence, but because they might get tired in matches,” O’Neill said. “That never materialised with James. In fact, the longer games go on, the stronger he looks to be getting.
“It’s all the more remarkable because he proved to be defensive-minded, too. I can recall numerous times when he would clear the ball from the penalty area and in those really, really important months for us in January, February and March, he never flagged. He’s very easy to manage. He trains every day and wants to improve. He’s prepared to watch and listen.”
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Off the pitch, he will grow into sensitivity. “There’s bound to be attention on the fact that he’s chosen to represent the Republic,” O’Neill, who played 64 matches for Northern Ireland, said. “He has to give consideration to the people around him, his family and friends, who will be the ones who have to deal with the fall-out.
“But he can and will learn from that.
I genuinely don’t think he means any malice, but also don’t think he should respond to comments all the time, either. Hence the packing in of Twitter, which I’m pleased about.”
So much has happened and so quickly since McClean left Derry. “I’m sure playing in the championships was the very last thing on James’s mind back then, but he has taken his opportunity and deserves to be there,” O’Neill said.
“My advice to him would just be to take it in his stride and, if he doesn’t start the first game, not to be disappointed, to accept the fact that he’s come into the squad late, to accept that the manager has done wonderfully well to get Ireland to the tournament.
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“Sometimes young men don’t accept those things — and I was the worst at that myself — but he should have the inner confidence that the moment he gets on the stage he will be ready for it. Whether it’s a half or 15 minutes, he’s quite capable of making a contribution, I’m absolutely sure about that.”