James McClean 'gutted' after Martin O'Neill and the FAI part ways
Martin O'Neill and James McClean following their victory over Germany in 2015
Republic of Ireland winger James McClean has expressed his disappointment after Martin O'Neill's five-year reign as Republic of Ireland manager ended today.
The Football Association of Ireland announced on Wednesday morning that they had parted company with the 66-year-old by mutual consent after a dreadful run of form and results which had seen his team win just once in nine matches during 2018.
O'Neill's departure, along with those of assistant Roy Keane, goalkeeping coach Seamus McDonagh and assistant coach Steve Guppy, was confirmed in an FAI statement two days after Ireland ended a deeply disappointing first Nations League campaign with a 0-0 draw in Denmark.
McClean was given his chance in the Premier League at Sunderland by O'Neill and has been one of the most consistent performers for Ireland since 2013.
He posted a picture of himself talking to O'Neill on Instagram with the message: "Gutted to see the gaffer gone.. qualifying for euros beating Germany, last 16 at the euros, beating Italy, within one game of qualifying for world cup being 4th seeds. Thanks for everything gaffer"
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Striker Jon Walters also paid tribute to Martin O'Neill on social media: "I didn’t expect Martin to leave as manager. Although we’ve had a very difficult year in terms of results, I’ll balance that with the amount of players that have just started their international career.
"I would've been very confident in qualifying under Martin and still am with the group of players we have.
"On a personal note I have the utmost respect for Martin as he is and always has been fantastic for me."
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O'Neill , who replaced Italian Giovanni Trapattoni at the helm in November 2013, took charge of 55 games and capped 65 players during his tenure, 28 of them for the first time.
He guided Ireland to the Euro 2016 finals, a run which included a famous victory over world champions Germany, and they beat Italy to reach the last 16 at the tournament.
The Republic also came within 90 minutes of this summer's World Cup finals, only to be beaten 5-1 in the second leg of their play-off against Denmark in November last year after raising hopes with a battling 0-0 draw in Copenhagen.
However, that drubbing at the hands of the Danes at the Aviva Stadium signalled the start of a downward spiral which had thrown O'Neill's continued presence into doubt in recent months.
Since they beat Wales 1-0 in Cardiff to book their play-off berth, they have played 11 games and won only one of them, and that a 2-1 friendly victory over the United States in June which was clinched with a last-gasp winner.
Perhaps more worryingly, they have not scored a single goal in 397 minutes - approaching seven hours - of football amid growing dismay over the perceived negativity of O'Neill's approach.
