INTERNATIONAL NEWS:SUNDERLAND MANAGER Martin O'Neill has advised James McClean to keep his own counsel over his decision to represent the Republic of Ireland.

The Irish Football Association (IFA) yesterday expressed its disappointment at McClean’s comments about his time in their underage structures, but former Northern Ireland international and fellow Derry native O’Neill believes that his player took the right decision in closing down his Twitter account after receiving death threats.

The matter prompted Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness, to step in to urge calm, and O’Neill has urged McClean not to be dragged further into the row.

“It didn’t exist in my time, but it is something that has cropped up now, the possibility of playing for either side, and that’s something that James has done,” said O’Neill.

“He has been on twittering and he has been doing that for some time. He has been given advice in closing the account down, so at least that’s gone.

“He is going to get some sort of a reaction to it from somewhere, but I am not so sure he should be reacting to the reactions, as it were.

“Whether it’s the end of it or not . . . but at least the Twitter account has gone.”

In its statement released yesterday, the IFA reiterated its stance on inclusiveness, saying it was part of their strategic plan for the game in Northern Ireland across all levels.

“The Irish Football Association is disappointed by the comments made by James McClean in the media,” the statement read.

“The Irish FA’s strategic vision is to foster, develop and promote football for all throughout Northern Ireland.

“The association has a very successful “Football For All” programme where the main objective of the programme is to make sure that the sport of football is welcoming and inclusive to all members of our society in Northern Ireland and we will continue to drive this initiative forward.

“We pride ourselves with the fact that all Northern Ireland international football teams – both past and present – have always involved players from all sections of the community.”

O’Neill had plenty to say about McClean switching sides when it comes to the pitch, and is delighted that Trapattoni is planning to put him through his paces on the right wing when the squad begins to assemble in Dublin next week.

He said: “It’s funny you should mention that because I said to James in training that I wanted him to go and play a wee bit in the fashion of someone like Damien Duff and people like that so he has the ability next season to play on either flank, and that would be great.

“If Trapattoni uses him in that fashion, that will be great. It will save me the bother.”