ACCORDING TO his manager at Wigan Athletic, James McCarthy won’t decide on his international future until the summer, Roberto Martinez revealing on Saturday that the player will not make himself available for the Republic of Ireland next month for the Euro 2012 qualifier against Macedonia and the friendly with Uruguay four days later.

Scottish-born McCarthy, now 20, declared for the Republic when he was 15, going on to win caps at under-17, -18 and -21 level, before making his senior debut against Brazil in last February’s friendly in London.

Until he is capped in a competitive game, however, he remains free to switch allegiance to Scotland, and when he withdrew from the Republic’s squad for last week’s game against Wales there was renewed speculation about his intentions.

“We always said that until the summer he’s not going to think about international football and the country he is going to represent is going to be a very fortunate nation,” Martinez told Today FM on Saturday.

“We want to help James and make sure that everyone understands he cannot be forced into a decision. I think international issues are going to be a little bit further down the line and it’s only fair that we respect James and we help him.

“To represent a country has to be a feeling, has to be a passion, and that’s something he needs to find inside himself. I think that is something that goes down to the family, to the friends and himself,” said the Spaniard.

“I think it’s very unfair for a young man. His career is going from strength to strength, at only 20. He’s had a few injuries and a few knocks and is a young man that is still growing. He doesn’t feel ready to make a decision on his international career.

“In the past he’s only been focused on getting himself back and getting himself fit, and he’s never had support from anyone else apart from Wigan Athletic, and I think at the moment I think he wants to repay that feeling, and we have to respect him.”

McCarthy, who has restated his commitment to the Republic on several occasions, has not made any public comment himself on the issue. It s understood, though, that Scotland have not given up hope of persuading him to change his mind and declare for the country of his birth.

Former Republic of Ireland manager Brian Kerr, also speaking to Today FM, was critical of Giovanni Trapattoni for failing to contact the player directly to clarify the issue. “It’s a strange situation that the manager hasn’t got a player’s phone number in the first case and it also appeared that Trapattoni was blaming an agent’s involvement in maybe trying to persuade the player, but then again it’s hard to understand what he is actually saying at the press conferences.

“It would be nice if the speculation was ended by Trapattoni going to a match and making an appointment to see the player after the game and clear the issue up. James McCarthy looks like he could be top notch and we need to do whatever it takes to get him and that’s the manager’s biggest responsibility.”