Manchester City FC

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Ireland not tempted by return

14 Nov 2009 - 13:43:51

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Manchester City midfielder Stephen Ireland has confirmed that he is highly unlikely to ever make a return to the Republic of Ireland set-up.

The 23-year-old has not featured for his country in just over two years and is not likely to return to the fold even if Ireland reach next summer's World Cup finals by winning a play-off against France.

He told the Daily Mail: "I never enjoyed my time playing for Ireland. I will watch the game but I don't feel guilty ever.

"No manager would sway my decision now. Even if they get to the World Cup there's not a part of me that will think 'that could have been me'.

"They haven't tried properly to get me back, it's just lip service.

"Giovanni Trapattoni rang me during the summer but it was more about him covering his back and having a press conference where he could say 'I've made the effort, I've spoken to Stephen, blah-blah'."