'I was Ireland manager when Grealish and Rice defected to England - I couldn't care less'

The defection of Jack Grealish and Declan Rice to England from the Republic of Ireland didn't have a lasting impact on Martin O'Neill who revealed his thoughts on the matter

Ex-Republic of Ireland boss Martin O'Neill bluntly admitted that he "couldn't care less" that Jack Grealish and Declan Rice switched their international allegiance to represent England.

Manchester City star Grealish, 29, played for Ireland's under-17, under-18 and under-21 teams but turned down several approaches for the seniors during O'Neill's stint in charge, as he pledged his future to England in 2015. Arsenal talisman Rice, 26, also represented Ireland at youth level but, unlike Grealish, won three senior caps in 2018 before opting to play for England a year later.

O'Neill - who represented the national team from 2013 to 2018 - harbours no hard feelings towards England pair and admitted that he simply doesn't care about the decision they made.

"Personally speaking, I couldn't care less," O'Neill told Jim White and Simon Jordan on talkSPORT earlier this year. "Secondly, if I did care, then I would think to myself, that Rice has chosen to play for England, what a terrible decision that's been! He's been to a couple of Euro finals and the Republic of Ireland haven't won a game.

"In fairness to Jack, Jack's father is English. At least I picked Rice for three games, he played three international matches at senior level for us. He played very well in the games."

With the Premier League pair both being born and raised in England, O'Neill admitted that they were always going to choose to represent the country of their birth, despite their familial connections to Ireland.

"I would have loved for him [Rice] to have made that decision," the ex-Celtic and Aston Villa manager said. "But the decision was always going to be playing for England. Also with Jack Grealish, he played at underage level for Ireland, but if it came to it, the big decision, he was always going to pick England."

The pair received a frosty reception at Aviva Stadium in September when England kicked off their Nations League campaign with a 2-0 win away to Ireland.

Fatalistically, it was Rice and Grealish that grabbed the goals on that occasion. While the Arsenal midfielder declined to celebrate, opting to put his hands up in respect for the crowd, the City winger was jubilant in his celebrations when doubling England's lead.

The two countries go head to head again as England play host at Wembley in the final Nations League group stage game for both countries.

Join our new WhatsApp community and receive your daily dose of Mirror Football content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice.